Real Madrid went to the quarterfinals of the Champions League after eliminating Leipzig 1-1 after playing an ugly and bad match, where they tried to speculate with the 0-1 in the first leg and that made them play with fire in the 90s. minutes, subdued by the Germans, who were only penalized for their lack of goal.
The night made it clear that Madrid is not doing well right now. He hasn’t had a good moment playing for weeks. It seems difficult that he could have passed if he had faced a more seasoned opponent with more poise, and above all with more fangs, like the ones he will now find in the hype.
The worst thing about Madrid is that it was not Madrid. Ancelotti had an attack of conservatism and decided to distort his team by shielding the midfield with five midfielders, which made him play with only one forward, Vinícius, something that sounds countercultural in the whites and that the Bernabéu did not handle too well. .
The first half was a continuous harassment by Leipzig against a Madrid that was withdrawn in its area and that, despite its battalion of midfielders, had a hard time stringing together three passes in a row. And not only that. Because they didn’t have it, Madrid had nothing against them. He crossed the center of the field very rarely, but was not capable of a single dangerous approach except for a shot with Vinícius’s shoulder.
Lepizig played as expected, with the faith of teams that have nothing to lose and a lot of history to gain. From the initial whistle he boldly went for the goal that would tie the tie. He had several problems; The most important thing is the lack of definition in the finishing. In the first period Openda had three good chances and none of his shots found the goal. Nor did Lunin have to be the savior of other afternoons. Rose’s team demonstrated what was already known, that his goals come more from quick transitions than from static attacks, as the conservative Madrid proposed last night.
With whistles from the public from half an hour into the game, Madrid went to the locker room at half-time in the middle of a general whistle, which is quite unusual and even more so in their favorite competition when they were leading the tie.
Ancelotti must have liked little what he had seen because to start the second half he gave off Rodrygo and retired a midfielder, Camavinga, who was facing suspension. He hadn’t been the worst by any means. Madrid thus recovered a design more in line with his style.
The second half began with a very dangerous free kick for Lepizig that Dani Olmo fatally shot against the barrier.
The game did not improve anything for Madrid and nervousness spread among its ranks. Proof of this is a mistimed foul by Vinícius on Orban in which the red card was played because after knocking him down he pushed him twice, the second time with a slap to the neck. The Italian referee, Massa, was content with giving him a yellow card.
Rodrygo had the first for Madrid in the 61st minute but Gulacsi reacted well and avoided the goal. The play was a rebirth for Madrid because very shortly after they found a perfect counter led by Bellingham that ended in a great pass to Vinícius, who skillfully defined to bring the score to 1-0.
Leipzig immediately had the goal but Rüdiger was there to deflect Dani Olmo’s shot into a corner. Madrid’s joy was short-lived because in the 68th minute the tying goal came with a foreshortened header from Orban after a cross from Raum.
The game ended in a dead heat because Leipzig had no choice but to make a furious attack to take the game to extra time and leave all the space in the world.
With ten minutes left Modric came on for Kroos, already with a card. The Croatian gave some air to the midfield. The four minutes of added time were agony for Madrid, with the crossbar included in a shot by Olmo. Madrid breathed with the final whistle after a difficult night without any glory. It’s worth being in the hype because Madrid, even though they play terribly, in the Champions League it costs a world to kick them out.
