Real Madrid won the first round of 16 against RB Leipzig 1-0. On Wednesday evening, the meeting returns to Santiago Bernabéu, Spain, and then a cross at the worst is enough for “Los Blancos” to advance in the Champions League play-offs.
Compared to the last time the teams faced each other, Jude Bellingham is back from injury. The big star forms Real Madrid’s forward line, and takes place alongside Vinicius Junior at the top.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the brass Rodrygo is poked. This after starting almost every game this season.
Carlo Ancelotti’s rocking did not have the desired effect in the first half, with Real Madrid having great trouble creating any clear scoring chances.
Instead, it was the guests of RB Leipzig, and Lois Openda, who stood out on several occasions. But when the chances did appear, it usually broke in the sharpness of the away players and thus it was goalless after the first half in the Spanish capital.
Before the second half, Carlo Ancelotti also chose to act and when the game was restarted, Rodrygo had taken his place on the field, while Eduardo Camavinga was replaced.
But the guests continued to create chances and the Real Madrid players were not in total balance, something that became noticeable after a little over 50 minutes of play. After a frustrating situation, Vinicius Júnior went head-to-head with RB Leipzig’s Willi Orbán, having taken down the Hungarian in an earlier situation.
Brassen then delivered a push with both hands to the throat of Orbán, who fell to the grass. An action that usually results in a red card. But Vinicius remained on the pitch as referee Davide Massa settled for a caution.
– There are two arms around the throat, said TV4 Play’s commentator Lasse Granqvist in the broadcast.
Jens Fjellström added:
– He will probably be happy because it was only a yellow card, said the TV4 Play expert.
RB Leipzig’s social media team were not entirely happy with the verdict:
“The referee only punishes him (Vinicius Junior) with a yellow card. Interesting,” writes the German club, followed by an ironically happy smiley, on X.
Even Real Madrid should be happy that the big star missed a red card.
After 65 minutes of play, Jude Bellingham found Vinicius who had a finish that whizzed in behind a powerless Peter Gulasci in the away goal – and Real Madrid had acquired a breathing space in this double meeting.
– This is where the quality differs between these two teams. Look at Jude Bellingham, how he can hold the ball and allow Vinicius Júnior to take his extra run into a position where he can finish off a strike before Orbán can reach his tackle. The finish is top class, said Jens Fjellström.
But the calm at the Bernabéu was only temporary. RB Leipzig responded immediately and after a cross, Willi Orbán took revenge when he tore himself away from his marking before heading home the equaliser. Thus, Real Madrid’s lead in the doubleheader was once again down to just one goal.
– Forwards have had a terrible time taking advantage of their chances. Nacho is not strong enough in the duel with Willi Orbán who gets his forehead on it and also steers it into the far corner, which is difficult for Lunin, he is guarding his first post, analyzed Jens Fjellström.
After the equaliser, Leipzig tried to force a final push to, first of all, arrange extra time.
The big chance would also come. This when Dani Olmo received a high ball in the offensive penalty area in stoppage time. But the Spaniard was denied by Andriy Lunin’s crossbar and Real Madrid got away with nothing more than a scare.
The final result was finally written at 1-1 and means that Real Madrid advances to the quarter-finals, while RB Leipzig has to settle for an honorable loss.
– The big giants are moving on, Real Madrid is one of them, announced Jens Fjellström after the final whistle.
After the game, the studio was unanimous in its view of what was missing for Leipzig.
– It’s not like they miss an open goal in the match. It’s a good position, if you make a good decision and a good finish, it can be a goal. They have the opportunity to create something, but don’t take it. It is the decision-making and keeping cool in the final third that is missing in this match, analyzed TV4 Play expert Vicki Blommé.
Siavoush Fallahi added:
– The feeling I had is that they almost had a world record in wrong decisions in certain situations where they take shots instead of passing. They really get into a lot of good situations in the final third, Fallahi explained before concluding:
– We must bear in mind that Xavi Simons, Dani Olmo, Sesko and Openda are high-class players and it doesn’t feel like they make the right decisions often in these situations. I am actually disappointed with them there. If there’s one thing I know I’ll get out of Leipzig, it’s sharp decisions in the final third and that won’t get them in this game.
In the Real Madrid camp, they did not boast that there is more to be done in terms of performance for the future.
– It was not our best performance as a team, or for me personally. But it’s such a game, you can’t always win by playing wonderful football. Sometimes you have to fight them down and defend well, make important breaks and then take the chances that appear and we did that tonight with “Vini”, explained Jude Bellingham in an interview on TV4 Play’s broadcast and continued:
– We played 1-1, but it’s not like we faced a bad team. We faced a very good Leipzig who really came here to play and they pressed us from the first minute.
Startelvor:
Real Madrid: Lunin – Carvajal, Rüdiger, Nacho, Mendy – Tchouaméni, Kroos, Camavinga – Valverde – Bellingham, Vinicius Junior.
RB Leipzig: Gulasci – Henrichs, Orban, Lukeba, Raum – Elm, Haidara, Schlager, Simons – Sesko, Openda.
