An extraordinary solo goal by Brahim Díaz in the 2nd half gave Real Madrid a narrow 0-1 victory over RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena.
This victory gives the Merengues a slight advantage heading into the 2nd leg to be played at the Bernabeu on 6th March.
RB Leipzig started off strongly and even scored a goal which was eventually ruled out as Benjamin Henrichs was in an offside position behind Lunin and even fouled him.
Real Madrid’s attack in the 1st half was tame as not many chances were created and Leipzig looked like scoring sooner or later.
The Leipzig defense had kept Madrid’s attack at bay for a while until a wonder goal from Brahim Díaz in the 48th minute gave the Spanish side the lead.
The German side searched for the equaliser but Andriy Lunin had other ideas. He made 9 saves in the match, equalling Thibaut Courtois’s record for the most saves by a Real Madrid goalkeeper in the Champions League when the Belgian made 9 saves in the final in 2022.
Just a few minutes after Brahim scored, Lunin made a brilliant double save when he first saved Dani Olmo’s shot before preventing Šeško from scoring on the rebound.
Leipzig could have scored 2 or even 3 if it were not for the Ukrainian’s saves, which has kept Los Blancos alive in this tie. Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged the fact that it was the Ukrainian’s best game in the white shirt, since he has known him.
Nacho and Mendy were sloppy at moments in defense but Aurelien Tchouaméni was solid as he did not make any mistakes whatsoever. The Vikings are yet to lose a game when the Frenchman starts and are also yet to concede when he starts as a center-back.
Moreover, there was another injury scare when Brahim was substituted in the 84th minute after going down and holding his hamstring.
Although it was not their best game, Real Madrid takes a 1-goal lead to the Santiago Bernabeu. For the 2nd leg, Jude Bellingham would hopefully be back and the Merengues would be expected to put on a better attacking show.
