Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images
Real Madrid will take on RB Leipzig, who are playing with a lot of confidence, in the first Champions League knockout game of the season, which will take place at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night during the Champions League. When the first leg of the match was played in Germany a month ago, Los Blancos emerged victorious by a razor-thin margin; nevertheless, the tie is still susceptible to significant changes.
Within the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid is often considered to be the favorite. As a result of the fact that they have only lost twice during the whole season and have dominated the domestic circuit, their status as favorites is growing throughout the season.
The winner of the match on Wednesday will be awarded a spot in the quarterfinals, and Real Madrid will be hoping with all their might to see their name feature in the last eight. In the end, everything that does not result in the awarding of silverware is considered a failure in Madrid.
In anticipation of Real Madrid’s match against RB Leipzig, Madrid Universal gives you three topics of discussion.
Keeping one’s cool
At the conclusion of Real Madrid’s last match in La Liga, the referee made a mistake that prevented Los Blancos from attaining victory. As a result, the players’ tempers and feelings were running hot.
In point of fact, the men in white did not provide an outstanding performance on the evening when they played Valencia at Mestalla. Because of their terrible start to the game, they were forced to come back and score two goals in order to tie the score.
Despite this, they were able to conjure the necessary resources and even went to the extreme of scoring a victory on the very last play of the competitive game. However, the official who was in charge of the game that night, Gil Manzano, blew the final whistle while Brahim Diaz’s assist was still in the air, and as a result, he refused to count the goal that ultimately won the game.
After the event, the Real Madrid players were naturally furious since they felt as if they had been duped and that they had been the victims of a straightforward heist. Even as they were making their way back into the tunnel, players were spotted furious, which indicated that the atmosphere in the dressing room was not doing any better.
As a result, it is very necessary for the team coached by Carlo Ancelotti to maintain their composure and forget about incidents that occurred in the past. Even the slightest trace of lingering wrath or a sense of powerlessness has the potential to undermine the strategy against RB Leipzig.
In light of this, it is not yet clear if the manager has control of the locker room or how he will guarantee that the team is not impacted by the outcome of the game that took place over the weekend. It goes without saying that the veterans will play a significant part in the development of the same.
Lessons from Germany
In the five games leading up to the first leg matchup between Real Madrid and RB Leipzig, the Bundesliga team had only won one of their previous five matches. As a result of Los Blancos’ three consecutive losses to Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen, and Stuttgart, which occurred not too long before the match in the Champions League, many people considered them to be the obvious favorites.
The match that took place in the Red Bull Arena, on the other hand, was as intensely competitive as it could possibly be. The players under Ancelotti’s command were, in point of fact, under pressure for the most of the encounter, and they were fortunate to avoid conceding.
As a result of the Germans’ consistent success in overcoming the Merengues’ defense, Andriy Lunin was compelled to provide a performance that earned him the title of man of the match. During the course of the evening, the Ukrainian produced nine stops, which prevented an xG of 2.44, including five saves from within the box, which was quite remarkable.
Despite Leipzig’s dismal performance in the local competition, it is thus evident that the second leg will not be an easy thing for Real Madrid to win. The match that will take place tomorrow in Madrid will be a true test of defensive tenacity, while the strikers will also be under the microscope in light of the current slump that has been occurring.
This is a thin yet essential lead.
Only a one-goal lead was all that Real Madrid could manage from the first leg of the match, which took place three weeks ago. When taking into consideration the performance that Leipzig put out, it is fair to say that they were quite fortunate to emerge from the evening with any kind of advantage.
The cushion of one goal is a good place to start, but it will not be enough for Los Blancos to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament that they want the more than anything else. It is thus imperative that Ancelotti does not depend on his defensive qualities but rather aggressively want to score more goals on the evening.
It is expected that Real Madrid will have the benefit of playing at home, and the fans at the Santiago Bernabeu will be of great assistance in bolstering the team’s confidence. If Real Madrid were to lose at this point in the game, it would be considered an underachievement. However, it is possible that it is too soon to name them the favorites in the game.
Tomorrow, Jude Bellingham, who was absent for the first leg of the match, will be returning for Los Blancos, where he will be responsible for pulling the strings in the offensive midfield. He will have a significant amount of burden on his shoulders. To avoid going on the defensive, the Englishman, along with Vinicius, Rodrygo, and maybe Joselu, should strive to fight fire with fire rather than taking a defensive stance.
Considering everything, even if Real Madrid just manages to score one goal on the evening, it will greatly boost their chances of advancing on aggregate.
