Game two in the Champions League was next for Real Madrid, and it was Red Bull Leipzig from Germany visiting the Spanish capital. The starting team was a typical one, with Nacho Fernández filling in at left-back as he has so often been required to do in the past. Karim Benzema would miss the game due to injury, meaning his space would need to be filled, and Ancelotti went with double trouble as both Brazilians Rodrygo Goes and Vinícius Júnior made up the front three alongside Fede Valverde. Nacho captained the team in the French-mans absence…
Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde scored a superb second-half goal while Marco Asensio struck late to fire the holders to a 2-0 win at home to RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Uruguayan showed composure to calmly beat a defender with clever footwork on the edge of the area before picking his spot in the far bottom corner of the net in the 80th minute.
The 14-times winners gave an underwhelming performance and until Valverde’s goal had only managed one shot on target, while Leipzig had created plenty of openings but were not clinical enough in the area. Real wrapped up the victory with a goal in added time from substitute Asensio, the Spaniard slotting into the net after a lay off from Toni Kroos.
Real Madrid lead Group F with six points after two games, while Leipzig are bottom with no points.
You could tell early on that Real Madrid were going to have to suffer in order to accomplish anything in this game. The setting was a dry one, with a foot off of the gas feel to the home side’s play. This allowed Leipzig to create the first chance through Christopher Nkunku, but it was met brilliantly by Thibaut Courtois. This battle occurred multiple times in the first half, but the Belgian came out on top every time. Madrid didn’t really have a sniff for the first 45, and the visitors would rue not being clinical enough against a lethargic Madrid side at times… The first half concluded at 0-0.
– First meeting ever between the clubs
The second half was not a whole lot different to start with, as Madrid looked comfortable to keep the game at a reasonable level of intensity. Chances were now scarce for both sides though, and as the game went on it increasingly looked like an inevitable 0-0. With ten minutes to go, Vinícius Júnior paced down the line before picking out Fede Valverde – who managed to twist inside his man before finishing low and giving Madrid an almost surprise lead. This was now something the home side could see out with relative ease – but things would only get better. With barely any time to go, Los Blancos doubled their lead in similar fashion when Toni Kroos set Marco Asensio on the edge of the box. The finish from the Spaniard was even better than the first goal, and put the nail in the coffin for the hopeful Germans. 2-0 the final score. Keep an eye out for the post game content including a Podcast as Kiyan is live in Madrid.
All over at the Bernabeu… Madrid were made to work for their win but an improved second half was enough for Ancelotti’s side to turn things around and maintain the club’s incredible run.
Six points form six as Los Blancos top Group F
Madrid top Group F
Madrid are in control of the group with two wins from two games… Next up at the Bernabeu is second placed Shakhtar at the beginning of October