Leipzig start Champions League with win over Basaksehir

BERLIN - Angelino's first-half brace secured Leipzig a 2-0 winning start over Turkish outfit Istanbul Basaksehir in the first round of Group H in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The "Bulls" started highly motivated on home soil and dominated possession from the kickoff against Basaksehir, who made its first ever appearance in Europe's elite competition.

Leipzig created promising chances in the opening stages as Angelino's volley forced Basaksehir's goalkeeper Mert Gunok into the action with just four minutes played.

Only two minutes later, Dayot Upamecano had Leipzig's second chance but Gunok was on guard again to defuse the dangerous header on target.

The visitors then had a chance of their own in the 9th minute when Upamecano had to neutralize Enzo Crivelli's shot on target.

The hosts' efforts in the opening period paid off though with 16 minutes played, as Angelino had all the time and space to drill Kevin Kampl's long ball into the top right corner.

Angelino wasn't done scoring and wrapped up his brace four minutes later when Yussuf Poulsen's counterattack allowed the Spaniard to beat Gunok from inside the box.

Julian Nagelsmann's men continued to surge forward and thought they had tripled the lead through Angelino, but the striker found only the side netting from a tight angle at the half hour mark.

After the restart, Nagelsmann fielded Hee-Chang Hwang and Tyler Adams, but even though Leipzig was in search of its third goal, Gunok was able to keep a clean sheet in the second half.

Basaksehir lacked in penetration and was never able to threaten Leipzig's well positioned defense for the remainder of the match.

With the result in Group H, Leipzig grabbed the top spot, followed by Manchester United, Paris Saint Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir.

"I am not satisfied with the way we played. We were playing well and deserved the 2-0 lead but after the break we really didn't have clear-cut chances. But the most important thing is that we clinched three points," said Leipzig's head coach Julian Nagelsmann.