As good as the contribution created by the Kylian Mbappe for the Paris Saint-Germain club was on Tuesday in making Real Madrid fans dream about the future, this could not hinder their team from having a miserable draw with RB Leipzig at 1-1 which just did the trick to win the tie for them by 2-1 on aggregate for delivering them back to their senses.
Even if it’s in round of 16 with the team attacking style was missing and they looked like three-man defence was lopsided, they somehow managed to beat Leipzig. How many corners and if against a side with a bit more skill more discipline than Leipzig, who had a high number of attempts from unsuccessful placements 20 shots, only 11 from Madrid , What might have that resulted in ? We can expect the capital club to be much more dominant during their encounters this year, unless they finally get their act together to face Manchester City frontally.
Maybe we could take the best from it all and that was Jude Bellingham, who maybe should have started and even become the captain in this match whereas he missed traveling away at home. Instead, he worked a neat little pass through for Vinicius Junior to set him one-on-one with the Sampdoria keeper, which earned Madrid the opener. Bellin ham has been decisive all along in the Champions League campaign, having an assist in each out of the six games he has been with Madrid this season, scoring four and assisting four in the Champions League in these competitions.
Madrid’s Rollercoaster Nervy Moments and Quarterfinal Relief
Even though there was much anticipation in the air at Santiago Bernabeu before the game only, it was tranquil. Madrid had taken a 1-0 lead in the first leg on 13th of February, therefore an uprising victory was not a necessity; the team had only to take caret of or enhance their that single goal margin. Ancelotti the manager benched a purposeful select, with the trio Bellingham and Vinicius, the defensive wall of Valverde named, Bellingham in the midfield, and Tchouameni, Kroos, and Camavinga linking the midfield.
On the other hand, my efforts were wasted. The chance creation redeemed Madrid in the first half, while Valencia was standing unpleasantly with their opportunities. Probably two moments should be exaggerated. Firstly, Andriy Lunin made a good save from Xavi Simons, and Lois Openda missed a chance just wide. Obvioulsy, there was more than will to power, beyond the Bernabeu’s bleachers being filled with people, Before we got to the time for break, fans who were sitting on the bleachers demonstrated their discontent with that team’s performance, thus requiring more from them.
Having proved to be an unproductive false nine, Bellingham muted recently generated attacking threat of the team leaving the ball to the goalkeeper for the first time. Coming at the half saw Rodrygo come in for Camavinga, creating a trio of Bellingham, Vini, and himself for attack.
Leipzig posed more threats early in the second half, but Lunin, Madrid’s goalkeeper, did well to grab the ball from Openda. Vinicius got a bit lucky and received only a yellow card for pushing defender Willi Orbán off the ball. However, Bellingham had a chance to put Madrid in the lead after an hour. His shot seemed like it was going into the bottom corner before Rodrygo accidentally blocked it. Three minutes later, as Madrid improved, Rodrygo had a shot saved by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
Bellingham played a crucial role in breaking the deadlock. In the 65th minute, he received a pass from Kroos, made a quick burst forward, and timed his pass perfectly to find Vinicius, who was through on goal. Vinicius scored with his first touch. During the celebrations, he pointed at Bellingham, encouraging the crowd to acknowledge his contribution as the architect of the goal.
Then, the game was again in balance Leipzig equalized four minutes later. Orban out-jumped Nacho Fernandez on a David Raum free kick cross, and headed the ball into the net above Lunin. The last twenty minutes were quite tense as Real Madrid defended a one-goal lead which was insufficient in the match as a whole. It was heart-breaking how Dani Olmo hit the crossbar in the 92nd minute and came very close to making the match go into extra time.
Madrid ended the tournament in the quarterfinals and that was the most important thing. They were able to top great disappointments like they did in 2022. Yet, aside from their previous two months’ displays, there is an equally troubling trend. Apart from winning by 4-0 over Girona in LaLiga on Feb. 10, they haven’t been playing well.In their last four games across all competitions, they’ve recorded three draws. Their only two wins, following their victory over Girona, were achieved by just a single goal.
The suspension of Bellingham for two games in domestic games, unless he appeals successfully, only complicates the issue. Whilst Vinicius is scoring goals (his third in two games), he still needs help. Having been a key player in Champions League and substituted in Leipzig, Rodrygo has scored just once in the last two months. In LaLiga the 7 point gap in favor of Madrid at the top of the table is enough, but in Champions League they should step up. Although Mbappe may sign the contract this summer, Madrid could definitely draw some of his charm before the end of the season.