Leipzig and PSV Locked at 0-0 as Perišić Carries the First-Half Threat

RB Leipzig and PSV Eindhoven walk off at the Red Bull Arena level at 0-0, a scoreline that undersells a first half of genuine chance creation at both ends. The two sides traded 15 shots between them, and the expected-goals ledger reads 0.93 to 0.99 — a half decided by margins, not by one team imposing itself.

Ivan Perišić is the story of the opening 45 minutes. The Leipzig wide man has generated 0.79 xG on his own, the single largest individual figure on the pitch and the reason the home side's open-play threat reads 0.63 against PSV's 0.12. That gap is the clearest tactical signature of the half: Leipzig have manufactured their danger through structured attacking sequences, while PSV's open-play output has been almost negligible.

Ridle Baku has chipped in 0.09 xG, and David Raum's involvement down the left has fed the same channel Perišić is exploiting. Sven Mijnans, PSV's most active attacking reference, sits at just 0.03 xG — a number that captures how little the visitors have converted their possession into clear looks.

PSV have seen more of the ball — 56 percent to Leipzig's 44 — and completed 206 passes at 84 percent accuracy against Leipzig's 166 at 86 percent. But the territorial numbers tell the opposite story. Leipzig have 83 passes in the opposition half to PSV's 71, and 20 touches in the box to PSV's 11. The visitors' control has been circulation, not incision.

Both sides have carved exactly one big chance. PSV's three shots on target edge Leipzig's two, and the Dutch side's six corners to Leipzig's two reflect sustained pressure without a finishing touch. Maarten Vandevoordt has been the busier of the two goalkeepers in the shot-stopping sense, but neither has been beaten.

The physical ledger leans PSV's way: 35 duels won to Leipzig's 22. That advantage has not translated into a goal, and it has come at a cost — PSV picked up the half's only yellow card, while committing eight fouls to Leipzig's six. Leipzig, for their part, have kept a clean disciplinary sheet while absorbing that pressure.

Set plays have been a Leipzig weapon: 0.29 xG from dead balls against PSV's 0.09. With the open-play edge also theirs, the home side have the more varied attacking profile despite trailing on possession and duels.

The half ends where it started — 0-0 — but not without evidence. Perišić's 0.79 xG is the number to watch after the restart; if Leipzig keep feeding that channel, the deadlock has a clear favourite to break it.