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The Champions League Round of 16 kicked off more-than-ideally for Real Madrid who will return to the Santiago Bernabéu on the 6th of March with a 1-0 lead over RB Leipzig. This scoreline, however, does not do justice to the way the German side performed on the night of the first leg.
Marco Rose clearly told his players to attack early on in the game, and the home fans will argue their team should have taken advantage of the opportunities that they were able to create at the start. In only the second minute of the match, Šeško’s goal via an open header was ruled offside, shortly after which he failed to capitalise on a golden chance to score again. The Slovenian striker’s night only got worse from there as he was unable to convert one-on-one chances on two more, separate occasions. Although the third choice goalkeeper ahead of Courtois and Kepa Arrizabalaga, Lunin proved himself to be a valuable asset as he made nine saves, managing a very impressive clean sheet. A few more honourable mentions include Dani Carvajal, whose aggressive marking of the young starlet Xavi Simons kept him mostly at bay, Tchouaméni who filled in as a centre-back putting in a very solid performance, and of course, Brahim Díaz with his moment of brilliance which gave Los Blancos the lead.
Credit should be given where it's due for Real Madrid, who despite missing key injured players such as the likes of Jude Bellingham, David Alaba, Militao etc., have set themselves up nicely for the second leg. Though easily the underdogs, Leipzig fought respectably against one of the (if not the) strongest teams in the world. They had nine shots on target versus Madrid’s three, and kept an equal share of possession throughout the game. It is safe to say they will need something special to keep their European hopes alive, it is nonetheless too early to write them off as they are a promising side with a lot to offer.
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