Indonesia
South Africa

Real Madrid squeeze past RB Leipzig to make Champions League quarter-finals

sportsmole.co.uk, 6 March 2024, 21:52
Real Madrid booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday night courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate success over Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.

Los Blancos held a 1-0 lead from the first leg of their last-16 clash last month, and a 1-1 draw at Bernabeu was enough for Carlo Ancelotti's side to advance to the final eight.

Vinicius Junior sent Real Madrid ahead in the 65th minute of the contest before Willi Orban levelled the scores three minutes later, but Leipzig could not find a second which would have forced extra-time, as the 14-time European Cup winners progressed to the quarter-finals.

The first half-chance of the match came for Vinicius in the 12th minute, but the Brazil international could only divert a cross from Dani Carvajal over the crossbar.

Leipzig had an opening of their own three minutes later, with Lois Openda breaking into a dangerous position, but the striker's effort from distance was always moving wide of the post, before Orban missed the target with a header from a Xavi Simons free kick.

The visitors had another opportunity in the 16th minute through Openda following an excellent pass from Dani Olmo, but the 24-year-old, who was carrying the fight for the visitors early on, again missed the target.

Real Madrid were finding it difficult to carve out openings, with Leipzig defending impressively against a front three of Vinicius, Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde, with Aurelien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos and Eduardo Camavinga then operating in the midfield positions.

Tchouameni did well to block a strike from Simons in the 39th minute of the contest, with Leipzig continuing to cause problems at Bernabeu, and Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was then forced into action to keep out a curling effort from Simons in the closing stages of the first period.

Openda came close again before the break, striking just wide following a Leipzig corner, with the visitors proving to be the more productive outfit in the final third of the field in the opening 45 minutes, but Real Madrid's one-goal lead in the tie still stood at the interval.

Having seen his side fail to register a shot on target in the first half, Real Madrid head coach Ancelotti made a change at the break, with Rodrygo replacing Camavinga.

There was more purpose about Real Madrid at the start of the second half, and the breakthrough on the night arrived in the 65th minute, with Bellingham breaking towards the penalty area before releasing Vinicius, who picked out the back of the net with an excellent finish.

Leipzig responded in the 68th minute, though, with Orban heading a cross from David Raum into the back of the net to make it 2-1 on aggregate.

Lunin made a smart save to keep out a strike from Benjamin Sesko in the 74th minute, with Leipzig looking to level the tie, before Openda headed wide of the target from a free kick two minutes later.

Olmo and Benjamin Henrichs both had efforts in the period that followed, but the former saw his strike miss the target, before the latter was denied by Lunin in the 80th minute.

Both managers made changes in the spell that followed, and Leipzig continued to commit players forward in a desperate attempt to score a second goal which would have forced extra-time.

Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi made a smart save to deny Rodrygo in the 89th minute of the contest, with the match then heading for four additional minutes.

Olmo came so close to scoring a second for Leipzig in stoppage time, but the Spain international struck the woodwork, with Real Madrid surviving the dangerous moment to edge their way into the final eight at the expense of a talented Leipzig outfit.

Top News

5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is expected to be without 17-year-old gem Ethan Nwaneri for Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg at home to Newcastle United. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bidding to make North London lightning strike twice in the space of four days, Newcastle United stop over at the Emirates on Tuesday evening to battle Arsenal in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's home Premier League contest with Manchester United is on, with the fixture between the two most successful clubs in English football going ahead as planned at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be aiming to book their spot in the final of the Spanish Super Cup when they tackle Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday night. 5 January 2025 talksport.com Josh Windass could be set to swap Sheffield Wednesday for Santos in a sensational January transfer, talkSPORT understands. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ipswich Town are reportedly on the verge of signing central defender Ben Godfrey on loan from Atalanta BC. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea reportedly remain keen to reach a financial agreement with Torino regarding the sale of Cesare Casadei. 5 January 2025 talksport.com Liverpool's Premier League clash with Manchester United is currently still set to go ahead on Sunday afternoon. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the permanent transfer of Czech Republic goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague in a deal worth a reported £12. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk AC Milan are reportedly considering a loan move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Juventus are reportedly lining up a move for Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Premier League clash with bitter rivals Manchester United, scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Anfield, could allegedly be cancelled due to bad weather, with snow falling overnight in the Liverpool area. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The transfer window is open! Clubs around the UK and Europe have one final chance to strengthen their squads for the second half of the season. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ourense CF vs. Valladolid (Sunday, 11.00am) La Liga's basement side Real Valladolid will be bidding to book their spot in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey when they head to third-tier outfit Ourense CF on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Kasimpasa vs. Gaziantep (Sunday, 10.30am) Kasimpasa will look to add more wins to their current unbeaten run when they host Gaziantep at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadyumu on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santa Clara vs. Farense (Sunday, 3.30pm) High-flying Santa Clara welcome relegation-threatened SC Farense in gameweek 17 of the 2024-25 Primeira Liga season on Sunday at the Estadio de Sao Miguel. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Monza vs. Cagliari (Sunday, 11.30am) After both ended 2024 with four straight Serie A defeats, relegation rivals Monza and Cagliari will vie for victory in their year-opening fixture on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Lens vs. Toulouse (Sunday, 2.00pm) Two sides in the hunt for a place in Europe next season resume their Ligue 1 campaigns on Sunday as Lens host Toulouse at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hibernian vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Rangers will aim to build on their superb 3-0 victory in the Old Firm Derby as they head to Easter Road Stadium on Sunday to face an in-form Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have agreed to recall Stefan Bajcetic from his loan at Red Bull Salzburg and send him back out in January, with Real Betis heavily linked to the midfielder. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Queens Park Rangers will look to claim a second straight victory when they welcome Luton Town to Loftus Road for Monday's Championship clash. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's pursuit of left-back Julio Soler appears to have ended in failure, with Bournemouth reportedly in advanced talks with Argentine club Lanus for his signature this winter. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly tabled an enormous £78m contract to Trent Alexander-Arnold in an attempt to stop the defender joining Real Madrid for free in the summer. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Matheus Cunha is set to sign a new long-term contract at Wolves, talkSPORT understands. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Tottenham and Newcastle kicked off a thrilling day of Premier League action, but Brentford and Bournemouth did their best to steal the headlines. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal are facing another injury scare after Ethan Nwaneri was brought off at half-time against Brighton. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal were pegged back in their quest to catch up with Premier League leaders Liverpool following a 1-1 draw at Brighton. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he was forced to bring Ethan Nwaneri off at half time in their 1-1 Premier League draw with Brighton & Hove Albion due to injury. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could make a statement to the rest of the Premier League should they heavily beat Ruben Amorim's deflated Manchester United side, according to Reds experts David Lynch. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona eased their way into the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey on Saturday evening courtesy of a 4-0 success over fourth-tier outfit Barbastro at Estadio Municipal de Deportes de Barbastro.