When everything else failed, Real Madrid leaned on their star men; Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr worked in tandem to bag a crucial goal and send an otherwise poor Madrid side to the Champions League last eight with a 2-1 aggregate win over RB Leipzig on Wednesday night.
Lois Openda missed two chances inside 20 minutes, twice running in behind Los Blancos' high line before skewing his efforts. He lashed a third wide shortly before the break.
Real, for their part, created little in the opening 45 minutes. Manager Carlo Ancelotti deployed five midfielders, and Madrid looked predictably laboured as a result. Ancelotti introduced Rodygo at the break, and a moment of magic changed things. Bellingham strode into the final third and fed Vinicius, who clipped his finish back across a sprawling goalkeeper.
Leipzig responded quickly, with Willi Orban finding the bottom corner with a neat header to equalise on the night. The visitors had further chances, as Openda went close once again, and Xavi Simons saw an effort well denied by Antonio Rudiger. Still, they couldn't find the net, and Madrid scraped through.
GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from the Santiago Bernabeu...
