Being a guest in Germany has never been easy for Real Madrid , even with any opponent, not just Bayern Munich. In the early morning of February 14 (Vietnam time), Los Blancos experienced another difficult match, at RB Leipzig Stadium.
Meeting in the first leg of the 1/8 round of UEFA Champions League 2023-2024 in the absence of 3 out of 4 central defenders due to injury, including Jude Bellingham above, however, with coach Carlo Ancelotti, that is not the case. must be difficult.
The difficult point for the Royal team is always their playing attitude. Against RB Leipzig, who were very determined to enter the game, Real Madrid could not maintain the same concentration as when they beat Girona 4-0 in round 24 of La Liga last weekend.
Luckily for the “White Vultures” the referee did not recognize RB Leipzig’s goal in the 2nd minute, when Benjamin Sesko headed in a kick from his teammate outside the penalty area.
There was quite a bit of controversy about this goal when the issue was whether it was offside or whether Sesko’s teammates fouled goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.
But whatever it was, it was still one of the very bad moments of Real Madrid’s defense in nearly 20 minutes. Many failed passes resulted in Lunin’s goal being constantly on alert.
But it must be said that the home team had some good combinations, making the Ukrainian goalkeeper work hard.
Real Madrid began to respond after 20 minutes, with a shot from Toni Kroos, but the ball went right to the home team’s goalkeeper.
After that, the game was more balanced in attack, but goals were what was missing.
Madridista must have been worried that, without Bellingham, he would lack sensitivity in his ability to penetrate the penalty area to seize opportunities. That’s right, because despite having the same 15 shots as their opponent, Real Madrid only put the ball on target 3 times.
However, the difference comes in roles and personal moments. Just 3 minutes after the break, Brahim Diaz – who was chosen to replace Bellingham, shined.
The breakthrough passed the 3 home players, entered the penalty area and scored a dangerous shot, defeating goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
The remaining time was long enough for RB Leipzig to find an equalizer, but like the first half, they were not sharp enough to finish. Only Dani Olmo threatened Lunin, but then Vinicius Junior also responded with a kick that bounced off the post.
A few more shots still couldn’t subdue Lunin, RB Leipzig suffered a 0-1 defeat and will have to climb a big mountain in the return match at the Bernabeu on March 7.
