Real Madrid missed out on several major trophies last season, even with some of their best players. The Los Blancos lost the La Liga title to Barcelona, whose striker Robert Lewandowski was on fire. They were also dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by eventual winners Manchester City in the semi-finals, which made their season even worse.
However, this season has been different for the Spanish giants. They hold a very strong advantage over Girona and Barcelona in La Liga, and in the UCL, they qualified for the quarterfinals at the expense of RB Leipzig, whose players went for the referee after the game with accusations of bias against them.
RB Leipzig players fume at officials after Real Madrid nick the tie
Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Leipzig in the second leg of their round of 16 tie. This means the Los Blancos are in the quarterfinals of the competition, thanks to their 1-0 win in the reverse leg in Germany a few weeks ago.
As Real Madrid players celebrated their hard-fought victory, RB Leipzig players surrounded the referee to give him a piece of their mind.
In the post-match interviews, several RB Leipzig players went for the referee again, indirectly accusing him of being biased against them. For context, they mentioned the instance when Vinicius Jr. grabbed the neck of one of their players, leading to a contest in which the Brazilian winger should have been sent off.
“If one of our players went for the neck of a Real Madrid player, he would be sent off 100%,” one RB Leipzig player said.
“The referees don’t have the guts to put such players down,” said Willi Orban, the victim in the neck-grabbing incident. “He grabs my neck with both hands; that’s disrespectful,” he added.
Although Vinicius could have been sent off, his goal ensured Real Madrid went through to the next step. He got on the end of a brilliant pass from Jude Bellingham to score a beautiful goal in the second half of the tie.
Real Madrid’s first leg win also created controversy
The tie’s first leg between Real Madrid and Leipzig in Germany also sparked controversy, as Benjamin Sesko appeared to have been in an offside position when he headed home the disallowed goal. Leipzig players were furious, and rightly so. The goal could have changed the balance in the tie, and Brahim Diaz capitalized on that to hand Real Madrid a much-needed away goal when he scored a late stunner.
Despite being in an offside position when he headed home the ball, Benjamin Sesko’s early goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR check. Another RB Leipzig player was adjudged to have been in an offside position, and even though he didn’t touch the ball, the referee thought his presence at that point interfered with the goalkeeper’s ability to keep the goal out.
The late Brahim Diaz goal in Germany proved decisive in the second leg as both teams labored to another controversial 1-1 draw. Real Madrid will soon learn their opponent in the quarterfinals after the conclusion of the round next week.
