Real Madrid had to fight for their position in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, beating RB Leipzig 2-1 after a 1-1 draw in the second leg.
RB Leipzig were arguably the bigger team and squandered several notable chances, registering 20 shots to Real Madrid’s 11.
But Carlo Ancelotti’s side picked up speed in the second half and eventually did enough to secure their qualification for the next round.
In search of their 15th Champions League title, Real Madrid took the lead thanks to a goal from Vinicius Junior on a counterattack in the 65th minute.
But Leipzig’s Willi Orban equalized 3 minutes later with a header to set up a tense finale that included a shot that hit Dani Olmo’s crossbar.
Although Real have a formidable record in Europe (having been eliminated in the round of 16 only twice in the last 14 years and winning the title five times in that time), they started timidly.
Leipzig continued to threaten to score, with Orban missing twice in the second half after firing wide.
In the second half, Rodrygo replaced Eduardo Camavinga and Real Madrid played with more determination.
Real looked to have decided the tie when Toni Kroos stole the ball and played a pass on the halfway line to Jude Bellingham, who picked up the ball in the Leipzig area.
He slipped a pass to Vinicius, who came in from the left in the centre circle before firing into the left corner.
The goal only ignited Leipzig, who equalized in the 3rd minute when Orban got ahead of Nacho to score with a header after a cross from David Raum.
In the last 20 minutes in which several yellow cards were handed out, Real played with fire and were under repeated pressure in their own area, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who had already defended Real in the first leg, was forced to make several saves.
Leipzig came close to taking the game back to time when Dani Olmo saw his shot bounce off the crossbar in stoppage time.
In the end, Madrid did just enough to qualify for the quarter-finals.
“Obviously we know it wasn’t the game of the season,” Real Madrid captain Nacho said.
“Sometimes we just have bad games and tonight we did that. It feels like a drama because of the way we played, but the thing is, we qualified for the quarterfinals. Let this be a lesson for the future. “
Real Madrid, in search of the title, will face Celta Vigo on Sunday in La Liga; The start will be at 5:30 p. m.
RB Leipzig, who go into the weekend outside the Champions League places, will host Bundesliga underground club Darmstadt on Saturday; The start will be at 2:30 p. m.
Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight showdown with Francis Ngannou will take place on Friday, March 8 at the Sky Sports box office and the main event is expected to take place at around 11pm. Book Joshua vs Ngannou now!
You can now start receiving messages and alerts about the latest sports news, analysis, in-depth features, and videos from our engaged WhatsApp channel!
Find out here. . .