MADRID – Quality prevailed when mentality failed. That was what happened as an “average” Real Madrid reached the Champions League quarter-finals following their 1-1 second-leg draw against RB Leipzig on March 6.
The record 14-time champions were far below their best, but did just enough over the two legs of the last-16 clash to edge out their Bundesliga opponents 2-1 on aggregate.
Leipzig were arguably the better side and missed several gilt-edged chances, registering 20 shots to Real’s 11, but went a goal down in the 65th minute, when Vinicius Junior fired into the top corner after being set up by Jude Bellingham.
Centre back Willi Orban levelled for the visitors just three minutes later with a diving header from David Raum’s cross, setting up a tense final few minutes that included a Dani Olmo strike which hit the crossbar. However, Leipzig could not find a second goal to force extra time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said his team suffered and did not approach the game well mentally.
“We played badly, with little intensity, with worries... the psychological aspect conditioned our game a lot,” Ancelotti told Movistar.
“We played against opponents with quality, who had nothing to lose, and we had the brakes on from start to finish – we suffered, but the important thing was to get to the quarter-finals.”
It was a sentiment also shared by former England international Owen Hargreaves, who felt the quality of Real took them through over both legs.
“It is a world-class goal from world-class players. Madrid were bang average in the two games. But world-class players can win matches in the blink of an eye,” he said on TNT Sports.
Ancelotti warned his players before the game they needed to be at their best to progress, and showed his cautious side by playing four midfielders behind Bellingham and Vinicius.
The Italian brought Aurelien Tchouameni forward into defensive midfield, also deploying Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde and Toni Kroos, as he looked to protect the 1-0 first-leg lead. However, Ancelotti’s game plan stunted Los Blancos’ own attacking game without completely stifling Leipzig’s.
“It was not our best day, but we have to be happy because the objective is complete. When things don’t go as you want, you have to battle, to fight, to play games like today’s that make you grow and learn,” Real captain Nacho Fernandez told Movistar.
Marco Rose was proud of his side, labelling their performance as “great” and “extraordinary”, but felt that maybe Leipzig, founded only in 2009, lacked the experience to make their superiority count.
“We had good chances and we played very well,” the German coach said.
“What was missing? We have a lot of quality in many roles and we are scoring a lot of goals in the league. Maybe we lack a little experience in some situations, or the peace of mind that comes from experience. And then sometimes you need a bit of luck, this is also part of the game.”
Added German defender Benjamin Henrichs on broadcaster DAZN: “If you add the 180 minutes up, we clearly had the better chances – I don’t know how they scored today. We played so well and it’s so tough that we’re out.”
While his side’s display worried him, Ancelotti was calm about accusations he avoided €1 million (S$1.5 million) in taxes on image rights revenues while he was at the club in 2014 and 2015.
A Spanish prosecutor is seeking a prison term of four years and nine months for Ancelotti.
In a statement on March 6, the prosecutor said that although the Italian coach was a resident in Spain for tax purposes at the time and filed his tax returns there, he had omitted the income earned through his image rights – €4.2 million euros in total.
“It’s an old story and it’s not affecting me,” Ancelotti said after the Champions League game.
“I hope it can be solved soon. I don’t have any problem and I’m calm about it. The only problem I have is that the team need to perform better.” AFP, REUTERS
