Bellingham, Vinicius combine for stunning counterattack goal as Madrid pass test | Football News
Real Madrid held RB Leipzig to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their Round of 16 fixture, at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday. The result saw Madrid advance to the next round, courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate.
In the second leg, it was Madrid who got the first goal, as Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr combined to make it 1-0 in the 65th-minute. The England international got the ball in his own half, and then made a run forward, followed by a through ball to Vinicius and the Brazilian finished it with calm and ease.
Here is the goal:
Willi Orban equalised for RB Leipzig in the 68th-minute, but the Bundesliga failed to the goal, which would level the tie. Real Madrid have reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 12 of the last 14 seasons, failing only in 2018-19 and 2019-20 (both Round of 16 eliminations) in this period.
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig have failed to progress from each of their last three Champions League last 16 ties, losing to Liverpool in 2020-21 and Manchester City in 2022-23.
Bellingham, aged 20 years and 251 days, became the third-youngest player ever to either score or assist a goal in six consecutive Champions League appearances, behind only Kylian Mbappe (18 years and 337 days) and Erling Haaland (20 years and 231 days).
Speaking after the match, Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said, “We had to dig deep, more than we thought we might have to. It was difficult and we played badly. Now we’re pleased to reach the quarter-finals. We’re in a better position than ever because we’re seven points clear in the league and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. If I’d been told this at the beginning of the season, I’d have taken it.”
“We have to be critical because it has happened again. When we have a small lead we don’t know how to handle it mentally. We don’t press and we lack intensity. Maybe I made a mistake in the line-up, but I wanted to bring more intensity and energy, and we didn’t do that. That’s where we have to improve and evaluate what we didn’t do well,” he added.
