32 min: Terrific save by Gulacsi! Alexander-Arnold sprays an effortless crossfield pass out to the increasingly influential Gakpo. He flicks a lovely cross towards Nunez, whose powerful close-range header is tipped over acrobatically by Gulacsi; that’s a brilliant reaction save.

29 min Imagine if Nunez had been offside though.

Nunez has achieved what Craig Johnston couldn’t quite manage in the 1986 FA Cup final. Liverpool won’t care as it was a well-worked goal. Gakpo combined nicely with the underlapping Tsimikas, who stood up a good cross towards the far. Salah strained his neck muscles to power a head back across goal and Nunez made sure on the line. I’m 99 per cent sure it would have gone in off the inside of the post, but I guess Nunez needs the goal more than Salah.

GOAL! Leipzig 0-1 Liverpool (Nunez 27)

26 min: Disallowed goal! Openda beats Kelleher with a spectacular rising drive on the turn… and then the flag goes up. He was miles offside in fairness.

Just before that Konate made another important intervention, this time to dispossess Sesko just outisde the area. He’s been excellent.

25 min “I remember the Champions League group stages coming in during the nineties including the few seasons where they had back to back group stages. The joy of the European Cup prior to this, was that the two-legged ties were filled with jeopardy. It did, of course mean that big clubs or star players could exit the competition early doors (I’m thinking Maradona’s Napoli). But it was worth it for the fact that every game was meaningful. Amusingly the response to the general indifference created by the group stages has been to bloat the thing even further. It’s like asking Noel Gallagher to correct the excesses of Be Here Now by taking more cocaine.”

Arf. While I’d love to go back to unseeded jeopardy, I’ve given up shouting at this particular cloud. I mean look at it.

23 min Leipzig remind me a little of the Romania side of 1994 in that they’re like a coiled spring, always on the lookout for counter-attacks. So far, for all Liverpool’s possession, Leipzig have carried the greater threat.

22 min Geertruida is booked for a hack at Gakpo.

20 min At the other end Salah pokes wide of the near post. It wasn’t really a chance, though it is Liverpool’s first attempt at goal.

19 min: Just wide from Sesko! A fantastic effort from the big man. Kelleher came out of his area to head the ball away but didn’t get enough on it to concede a throw-in. Sesko collected by the left touchline, turned and hit an extravagant curling shot just wide of the far post. Kelleher was still running back towards goal and would have had no chance. That was almost a glorious goal.

16 min Leipzig have had only 35 per cent possession but all three attempts at goal. So now you know.

15 min Here’s more on Celtic’s impressive, hard-fought draw in Bergamo.

14 min The corner is half cleared and Leipzig come again. The ball is screwed back to the edge of the D, where Haidara hits a sweet first-time shot with his left foot. Kelleher gets down smartly to his left to make a confident save.

Moments later, Sesko gets behind Liverpool on the right side of the area but cuts the ball behind the man in the middle.

13 min Haidara plays a quick pass through to Openda, who tries to go past Konate in the area and gets no change. The assistant gives a corner, a decision with which Konate is less than thrilled.

13 min Mac Allister is booked for diving. Looked like a foul to me, but I haven’t got the whistle.

12 min There have been two early goals in the match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Will Unwin will give you chapter and verse.

10 min Leipzig are full of intent on the counter attack, charging forward as soon as they win the ball.

Nunez runs the channel to win Liverpool’s first corner. Tsinikas takes it and Orban heads away well under pressure.

8 min Castello Lukeba is booked for standing on Szoboszlai’s foot.

7 min Simons cuts inside from the left and curls a nice cross towards Sesko, who flicks a header straight at Kelleher. It was a tough chance because he had to generate power while also trying to place it in the corner.

4 min Liverpool have taken the centre of the ring early on, moving the ball around with a relaxed confidence. Nunez finds Gakpo on the left; he beats his man but overhits a cross towards the unmarked Salah at the far post.

2 min Simons curls over from the edge of the area after a promising Leipzig break, sparked by a loose touch from Tsimikas near the halfway line. It looks like Leipzig have started with a back four by the way; Henrichs is at left-back.

Leipzig (4-3-2-1) Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Lukeba, Henrichs; Haidara, Vermeeren, Nusa; Sesko, Simons; Openda.

1 min And they’re off. Liverpool are kicking from left to right as we watch.

A reminder of the teams

Leipzig (possible 3-4-2-1) Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Lukeba; Henrichs, Haidara, Vermeeren, Nusa; Simons, Sesko; Openda.
Substitutes: Vandevoordt, Bitshiabu, Elmas, Poulsen, Baumgartner, Andre Silva, Kampl, Gebel.

Liverpool (4-3-3) Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.
Substitutes: Jaros, Gomez, Endo, Diaz, Jones, Robertson, Quansah, Morton, Nyoni, Davies.

Referee Sandro Scharer (Switzerland)

Leipzig are second in the Bundesliga, behind Bayern on goal difference. Like Liverpool they’ve been superb in defence, concedingly only twice in seven games. But it hasn’t worked out quite so well in the Champions League: they lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid and 3-2 to Juventus, having been ahead in both games. Another defeat tonight and they’ll be needing snookers.

“So, Rob, what’s your verdict so far on the Swiss Model?” asks Simon McMahon. “Loath as I am to give UEFA credit for anything, if nothing else it’s mixed things up a bit, and given teams like, say, Aston Villa, Brest and Slovan Bratislava top billing, at least for a while.

“No doubt the last 16 will look pretty familiar, and Real Madrid will beat Man City in the final anyway, but it feels like the chances of an outsider, or maybe even two, making the latter stages have increased. And the more games UEFA can fit into the calendar the better, right? Surely only a matter of time before the final is played on 4th July in New York at 8pm (Eastern time).”

I’ve enjoyed it and particularly Villa, though I think that’s more because of their newness than the format. My main gripe is the extra games; it’ll never happen but a way to make the league stage really interesting would be to have 12 teams qualifying rather than 24. The top four go straight to the quarters, the next eight playoff to join them. That would mean fewer games and loads more jeopardy, which is frankly how I prefer to roll.

Champions League results

Ibrahima Konate is the only player on either side who’s on a yellow card. If he’s booked tonight he’ll miss Leverkusen at home in a fortnight.

Pre-match bits and bobs

Team news: Nunez and Gakpo start

There are loads of other Champions League games tonight, including Barcelona v Bayern Munich. Will Unwin has drawn the Clockwatch straw.

Preamble