FINAL WHISTLE
- Manchester City 3, Copenhagen 1 (Manchester City lead 6-2 on aggregate)
- Real Madrid 1, RB Leipzig 1 (Real Madrid lead 2-1 on aggregate)
Manchester City and Real Madrid secured their places in the UEFA Champions League quarter finals on Wednesday, but their paths to victory were quite different.
Manchester City had a relatively easy time in their 3-1 victory over Copenhagen, while Real Madrid and RB Leipzig battled to a 1-1 draw that left the outcome uncertain. Let’s take a closer look at both matches from Wednesday.
Real Madrid narrowly secured a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 1-1 draw in the second leg against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, advancing with a 2-1 aggregate score.
Real Madrid, who holds the record for winning the Champions League 14 times, didn’t perform their best, but they managed to do what was needed in both matches of the last-16 clash to defeat their Bundesliga opponents by a small margin.
Similar to the first leg match, the German team Leipzig suffered the consequences of missing several scoring opportunities. With 25 minutes remaining, Vinicius capitalized on Jude Bellingham’s pass, extending their lead to 1-0. Leipzig finally converted an opportunity three minutes later when skipper Willi Orban flicked in a header to equalize the score 1-1.
As Los Blancos won the first leg match 1-0, they were ahead 2-1 against their German opponent by this time. The goal, however, injected new hope into the Bundesliga team, and they persistently attacked the Spanish league leaders in their quest for an equalizer. Former Barcelona player Dani Olmo came very close to forcing extra time when his header grazed the top of the crossbar in injury time. It’s worth noting that away goals no longer have significance in UEFA competitions.
Real Madrid, with their sights set on clinching the European title for the 15th time, successfully defended their lead and advanced to the quarter-finals for the 12th time in the last 14 seasons. Carlo Ancelotti’s team will discover their quarter-finals opponent when the draw takes place on Friday, March 15th, at 11:00 GMT.
With a narrow lead secured by Brahim Diaz’s superb winner in the first leg match, there was pressure on Real Madrid to showcase their skill and know-how to secure victory on their home ground. Antonio Rudiger wasn’t pleased with the win, expressing his dissatisfaction with Real Madrid’s performance against RB Leipzig.
Following the Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig match, Rudiger, in an interview with CBS Sports, mentioned that the team wasn’t celebrating the victory because they were not satisfied with their performance. Despite moving on to the next stage, he highlighted the importance of having discussions about the team’s overall display.
Ancelotti emphasized in his pre-match press conference that the tie was far from settled, aiming to prevent any sense of overconfidence among his players.
Man City, the current champions, secured another impressive victory against Copenhagen and settled the match fairly early. City took a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes with goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez. However, they allowed Mohamed Elyounoussi to score a superb team goal in the 29th minute to reduce the lead 2-1.
Erling Haaland secured the victory with a goal during stoppage time in the second half to establish a 3-1 lead. City is now the only team in the Champions League to have won all their games, solidifying their position as the team to watch in this season’s competition.
While Manchester City had an easy time, Real Madrid faced a tough challenge but managed to secure their spot in the quarterfinals, thanks to a standout performance by Vinicius Junior. The quarter final lineup mostly consists of the expected teams, and the upcoming matches next week will determine if there will be any surprises.