Will RB Leipzig’s Champions League journey end in Madrid or will it reach the quarter-finals of the “premier league” for the second time since 2020? To do this, none other than record champions Real Madrid have to be defeated in their living room. After the 0-1 defeat in the first leg, Marco Rose’s team urgently needs a win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
The starting position is clear: only success at Real Madrid will ensure RB Leipzig advances in the Champions League. On Wednesday (9 p.m. in Sports in the East-Live ticker and audio stream), Marco Rose and his team compete against the star ensemble around the German 2014 world champion Toni Kroos.
Rose hopes for strong performance and luck
The RB head coach is relying on his own offensive strength in the second leg of the round of 16. “We will have to look for salvation in attacking. We also have to impose our tempo on the game. We will have to push ourselves to the limit in all areas,” said Rose, who also emphasized: “We shouldn’t just hope so, we should also believe in it . We have to believe that we can put in an exceptionally strong performance on the pitch, but we also need luck.”
RB succeeded in the dress rehearsal. On Saturday there was a clear 4-1 win at VfL Bochum. Rose had shown a good hand, especially with his substitutions.
What can give RB Leipzig courage
In the first leg, RB Leipzig were on equal terms and, like Real, had 15 shots on goal. However, RBL was more precise, nine attempts were on goal. At Real there were only two, including Brahim Diaz’s dream goal. Benjamin Sesko’s early Leipzig goal was also wrongly disallowed. In terms of shots on goal and assists on goals, the Rose team has the third best player in the Champions League in Xavi Simons. He tried it himself 15 times and also made 15 attempts. So far this season, only Johan Bakayoko (21/16) from PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid’s great player Jude Bellingham (16/15) have been better than the Paris loanee.
But Bellingham is not at its best right now. The ex-Dortmunder had just returned from an injury and experienced two disappointments. Real only managed a 2-2 draw at FC Valencia in the league last weekend. The England international also saw a red card in stoppage time for complaining after his goal to make it 3-2 was disallowed.
The kickers from Cottaweg know how to beat Real in an important game. Last season they welcomed the Whites in the group stage and, with a 3-2 win, put themselves in the ideal starting position to advance on the final matchday against Donetsk.
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