UCL: Real Madrid advance to quarter-final despite draw against Leipzig

Real Madrid advanced to the quarter-final of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League season, after securing a 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday.

Brahim Diaz’s 48th-minute strike earned Madrid a narrow victory over Leipzig in the first leg of the tie at the Red Bull Arena on February 14.

Coming into the second leg with the slim advantage, the Los Blancos were quite below par in the first half, as Leipzig who has it all to lose kept on doing the most.

Loïs Openda particularly came close to scoring for the hosts twice in the first half, but the Belgian couldn’t convert his chances, as the game went into the break goalless.

Real Madrid vs Leipzig second-half action

Rodrygo replaced Eduardo Camavinga for the second half and nearly capitalised on his speed to give the hosts the lead, but Leipzig’s goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi deflected his shot wide.

Madrid’s breakthrough, however, came soon after, as Vinicius leveraged a pass from Bellingham to give Real the lead in the 65th minute, and grab his 15th goal of the season.

⚪️🇧🇷 Vini Jr scored his 15th goal of the season… and it’s 22 G/A completed in all competitions.

10th assist of the season for Jude Bellingham, making it 29 G/A contributions in 31 games. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/AvRDWQ3uqE

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 6, 2024

Two minutes later, Leipzig equalized from a superb header from Willi Orbán, setting up a tense final 25 minutes, during which Dani Olmo hit the crossbar in injury time.

While Leipzig halted Real Madrid’s European winning streak for the season, it wasn’t enough to stop the Spanish giants from making it into the last eight.