Real Madrid are the most successful team in the history of the UEFA Champions League, and Los Blancos have the chance to proceed into the latter stages of this season’s UCL campaign. The fact that they also manage to make it into the deep ends of the competition makes them formidable for any team that faces them.
With one of the strongest teams and the youngest yet most effective attack in Europe, Real Madrid overcame early fears to have a goal advantage over RB Leipzig, but not after the German giants had a goal disallowed earlier in the game, which caused many to question the decision to have the goal disallowed.
Why was RB Leipzig’s goal vs Real Madrid disallowed by VAR?
Real Madrid have one foot in the quarterfinals of this season’s UEFA Champions League after beating German side RB Leipzig 1-0 at the Red Bull Arena. However, the game could have turned out differently had RB Leipzig had their early goal counted, which would have made the tie more difficult for Real Madrid to win.
In the second minute of the game, the home team had a corner, which a player whipped perfectly into the opposition box. Real Madrid goalkeeper Lunin did well to clear the initial ball, but it fell to Schlager, who hit a perfect one-time cross back to Benjamin Sesko. The Slovenian forward headed home to give Leipzig the lead, but the goal was ruled out as offside despite Rodrygo playing the Leipzig striker on.
The video review later showed another Leipzig player was in an offside position and interfered with the play by blocking the Real Madrid goalkeeper, which dented the chances of him keeping the ball out. Despite the initial outcry, this was one of the rare instances where the VAR was put to good use, and it ensured Real Madrid would go on and secure the win through Brahim Diaz’s goal in the second half of the game.
When is the second leg of Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig?
Real Madrid’s win in the first leg of this round of 16 clash means they are one step closer to qualifying for the next round, and the fact that they will be playing the next one at home in front of a packed Santiago Bernabeu means it will be a tough tie for RB Leipzig.
The second leg will be played less than a month from now, on March 6, when Real Madrid will be hoping to seal their qualification for the next round in front of the home crowd. Thankfully, some injured players like Jude Bellingham and Toni Rudiger would have returned from their layoffs to give Carlo Ancelotti a boost in his squad quality.
Real Madrid will face stiff competition from Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, and Arsenal if they want to lift their 15th UCL trophy and their fifth in less than two decades. Manchester City remain the favorites to defend their title, as they boast one of the strongest squads in Europe.
