RB Leipzig exit UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid draw

RB Leipzig drew on the night, but were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League last 16 after a 2-1 aggregate defeat to record winners Real Madrid.

Real Madrid 1-1 RB Leipzig (Real win 2-1 on agg.)
Goals: 1-0 Rodrygo 65' (assist: Bellingham), 1-1 Orbán 68' (assist: Raum)

Having lost 1-0 at home, Leipzig knew they had to win in Madrid to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals. They attacked with the necessary purpose in an encouraging first half, but couldn't make the most of the handful of opportunities that came their way. Loïs Openda sent a couple of shots from the edge of the area wide, while Xavi warmed the palms of Andriy Lunin with a stinging strike. Openda then fizzed an effort wide following a corner, before heading off target with Leipzig's first chance of the second half.

Leipzig goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi was called on for the first time on the hour, saving well from half-time substitute Rodrygo, but the Hungarian was powerless to stop Vinicius Junior applying the finishing touch to former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham's smart pass into the penalty area. Leipzig went straight up the other end to level on the night, though, with Willi Orbán heading in a David Raum cross. Lunin thwarted Benjamin Šeško and Xavi shot wide as Leipzig fell short of the equaliser needed to force extra time and extend their Champions League journey.

Match stats

• The result means Leipzig can no longer qualify for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Bayern Munich and Dortmund will be Germany's representatives at the newly expanded finals.
• Šeško, 20, missed the chance to become the youngest visiting player to score in a Champions League round of 16 fixture at the Bernabéu since Leroy Sané as a 19-year-old for Schalke in March 2015.
• Leipzig are the only Bundesliga club to beat Real in the Spanish side’s last 18 Champions League meetings with German opposition.
• Toni Kroos made 173 Bundesliga appearances during his time with Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen, winning three Meisterschale and the Champions League with the former.
• Bellingham made his name with Dortmund, scoring 24 times in 132 games. His record against Leipzig is four defeats and two wins. 
• David Alaba won 10 Bundesliga titles with Bayern. Antonio Rüdiger, Dani Carvajal and Joselu have also played in Germany, while Carlo Ancelotti led Bayern to 2016/17 Bundesliga glory.

Teams

Real: Lunin - Carvajal, Rüdiger, Nacho (c), Mendy - Valverde, Tchouaméni, Kroos (Modrić 78'), Camavinga (Rodrygo 46') - Bellingham (Joselu 85') - Vinícius
Unused subs: Arrizabalaga, González, Lucas Vázquez, Ceballos, Fran García, Brahim Díaz, Arda Güler
Out: Alaba (knee), Courtois (knee), Militão (knee)
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti 

Leipzig: Gulácsi - Henrichs, Orban (c), Castello, Raum - Xavi, Haidara (Kampl 90'), Schlager (Elmas 85'), Olmo - Šeško (Baumgartner 85'), Openda (Poulsen 77')
Unused subs: Blaswich, Zingerle, Lenz, Bitshiabu, Seiwald, Jatta
Out: Klostermann (thigh), Simakan (suspended)
Coach: Marco Rose 

As it happened!

1 - 1

(0 - 0)

Madrid

FINAL

Leipzig

Champions League
Round of 16, 2nd leg Round of 16, 2nd leg Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid

Full-time: Real Madrid 1-1 Leipzig (Real win 2-1 on aggregate)

Game over at the Santiago Bernabéu and Leipzig will be livid they haven't managed to at least take this tie into extra time. Vinícius Júnior put the hosts in front before visiting captain Willi Orbán levelled things up on the night. Leipzig ultimately paid for a succession of missed chances in the Spanish capital and their European adventure ends for this season after a 2-1 aggregate defeat.

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Bahho Kara

90'

+ 2

Olmo hits the bar!

Oh so close for Leipzig, but Dani Olmo's audacious lobbed effort drops onto the crossbar. So, so nearly there for the visitors.

90'

Time added on

Four to play in this game.

90'

Substitution

Kevin Kampl

Amadou Haidara

89'

Rodrygo danger

Rodrygo works some space and unleashes a shot which fails to threaten Gulácsi.

86'

Time running out

With the clock ticking down, Marco Rose throws Elmas and Baumgartner into the mix.

85'

Substitution

Eljif Elmas

Xaver Schlager

85'

Substitution

Christoph Baumgartner

Benjamin Šeško

85'

Substitution

Joselu

Bellingham

82'

More Leipzig chances

The cut back for Poulsen ends with the substitute seeing his curling effort saved by Lunin. Orbán sends an effort wide from the subsequent corner. That was a big chance for the Hungarian, who was unmarked.

Top entertainment

Whatever happens in the final 10 minutes here, Leipzig can hold their heads high. Marco Rose's men have been in the thick of the action all night and arguably deserve to be leading. Just 10 minutes to play.

© Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno

80'

Henrichs has a go

Henrichs hits a powerful shot that is right down Lunin's throat. Solid stop from the Madrid goalkeeper but it was straight at him.

77'

Substitution

Modrić

Kroos

77'

Substitution

Yussuf Poulsen

Loïs Openda

77'

Openda from distance

Another effort from Loïs Openda and this time the Belgian forward strikes over the top from distance. Dani Olmo's shot moments later suffers a similar fate.

75'

Another card

Toni Kroos upends Raum and the former is booked for that foul.

75'

Yellow card

Kroos

75'

Leipzig chances

Orbán races onto a flighted ball in the Madrid area but instead of headng at goal, he nods across the face. Openda is there but can't make it count. Moments later, Šeško shoots off target.

73'

Tchouameni yellow

Tchouameni is the latest player to be booked after a foul on Xavi.

73'

Yellow card

Tchouameni

71'

Orbán booked

He's just scored the equaliser and Orbán's enthusiasm takes him into an illegal challenge on Bellingham, who results in a booking for Leipzig's skipper.

71'

Yellow card

Willi Orbán

68'

Leipzig level

Amazing! Moments after going behind, Leipzig are deservedly level and it's captain Willi Orbán with a well-directed header from Raum's centre that gives goalkeeper Andriy Lunin no chance.

68'

Willi Orbán

GOAL!

1:1

65'

Real Madrid lead

Bellingham and Kroos combine to devastating effect and it all leads to Vinícius slotting in the opening goal of the second leg.

65'

Vinícius Júnior

GOAL!

1:0

Tight encounter

It's impossible to predict which way this Round of 16, second leg will go such has been the close nature of the game.

© IMAGO/Irina R. Hipolito

64'

Real again

Rodrygo has a pop but Gulácsi is there to block at his near post.

61'

Madrid attack

Bellingham's shot hits teammate Rodrygo while Kroos slams the follow up towards the top corner. Péter Gulácsi makes a fine save to deny the German.

60'

Openda over the top

Xavi Simons feeds a free kick into the area where Openda leaps and heads over the crossbar. That was a decent chance.

55'

Henrichs attacks

The Leipzig defender gets his head down wallops a shot that smacks against Rudiger and away from danger.

53'

Vinícius booked

Vinícius gets in a shove on Willi Orban and the Real Madrid forward is shown yellow.

53'

Yellow card

Vinícius Júnior

50'

Raum booked

The Leipzig man holds back Rodrygo and the referee whips out a yellow card.

50'

Yellow card

David Raum

49'

Olmo denied

Xavi is fouled outside the Madrid area and Olmo places the ball. The Spain international's free kick is cleared by Rudiger.

48'

Openda threatens

Openda beats Nacho and then rounds Lunin but the Leipzig man's shot is too heavy and the Real Madrid goalkeeper recovers to save.

46'

Back underway

It's game on again in Madrid.

46'

Substitution

Rodrygo

Camavinga

Half-time: Real Madrid 0-0 Leipzig

The hosts hold an aggregate 1-0 lead in this tie but they head down the tunnel to loud whistles from the home fans as it's been Leipzig who have imposed their game at the Santiago Bernabéu. Loïs Openda had three decent chances while Xavi saw goalkeeper Andriy Lunin make a solid stop late in the half.

© IMAGO/Jose Breton

45'

Time added on

We'll have one minute tacked onto the first half.

43'

Openda this time

This is a fine spell from the visitors and they produce one more shot with Openda finding the side-netting from inside the box.

42'

Xavi again

A super build up from Marco Rose's men ends with Xavi pinging a shot towards the top corner. Lunin gets across to palm that one out.

39'

Xavi attempt

Xavi Simons has a pop at goal but his effort takes a deflection and flies wide. Leipzig can't do anything with the subsequent set piece.

Running men

Leipzig have run a collective 47.2km in this match so far, with the hosts racking up 44.3km.

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Bahho Kara

36'

Leipzig come again

Great work from Openda, who sends a very dangerous ball in front of the target which is just too far in front of Šeško.

33'

Henrichs run

The Leipzig full back embarks on a long sprint forward and just can't pick out teammate Raum. Another threatening moment for Die Roten Bullen.

30'

Home frustration

Plenty of whistles audible from the home fans who haven't exactly been thrilled with their side in this game thus far. Plenty of that frustration is down to how well Leipzig have been playing.

26'

Captain fantastic

Super work from Leipzig captain Willi Orban who forces a menacing Jude Bellingham away from the target.

Chances favour Leipzig

Real Madrid have had 56 per cent of the ball thus far but Leipzig boast a 3-2 lead in terms of attempts.

© IMAGO/Jose Breton

20'

Vinícius sees yellow

Schlager is booked for body checking Vinícius.

20'

Yellow card

Xaver Schlager

RBL in control

The visitors have been passing the ball around confidently and have had the game's best chance thus far, both falling to Loïs Openda.

© Imago

16'

Leipzig again

This is an even better chance for Openda, who controls Dani Olmo's pass into the box before diverting narrowly wide.

14'

Openda misses

The Belgian forward smashes a shot off target as Leipzig mount one more attack.

13'

Vinícius off target

The Real Madrid forward connects with Tchouameni's centre with his shoulder and the ball flies off target.

11'

Šeško denied

Šeško waltzes through and ends up in a one-v-one with Lunin. The goalkeeper wins that battle but Šeško was offside.

8'

Birthday celebrations

As we await the night's first big attack, it's worth noting that today is Real Madrid's birthday. The Spanish giants are 122 years young.

5'

Visitors break

A Leipzig counter-attack ends with Raum's shot taking a deflection wide. The resulting corner comes to nothing.

2'

Early Leipzig pressure

Benjamin Šeško and Loïs Openda are sniffing around the Madrid area early on as the visitors look to put their opponents under pressure.

1'

Peeeeep!

Game on in the Spanish capital.

Here come the teams

Both sides make their way out onto the pitch. Not long to kick off now.

Atmosphere building

The Santiago Bernabéu belts out the Real Madrid anthem as we await the appearance of both teams for tonight's Round of 16 second leg.

Leipzig's challenge

Lest we forget, Leipzig are playing catch-up in tonight's second leg, the Bundesliga side having gone down to Brahim Diaz's goal in the return fixture in Saxony. There will be plenty of interest to see how Marco Rose's counter-attack specialists deal with the hosts' packed midfield tonight.

© IMAGO/Ulrich Hufnagel

More on those teams

Leipzig are showing two changes to the side that started against Bochum at the weekend with Xaver Schlager and Loïs Openda starting here and Nicolas Seiwald and Christoph Baumgartner dropping to the bench. Meanwhile, Vinícius Júnior leads the line for a Madrid side that look to be lining up with a five-man midfield. Nacho is in the hosts' back four while Rodrygo drops to the bench.

© IMAGO/Christian Schroedter

Leipzig starting XI

Gulácsi - Henrichs, Orban (c), Castello, Raum - Xavi, Haidara, Schlager, Olmo - Šeško, Openda

Leipzig subs

Blaswich, Zingerle, Lenz, Bitshiabu, Elmas, Poulsen, Seiwald, Baumgartner, Jatta, Kampl

Real Madrid starting XI

Lunin - Carvajal, Rüdiger, Nacho (c), Mendy - Valverde, Tchouaméni, Kroos, Camavinga - Bellingham - Vinícius

Real Madrid subs

Arrizabalaga, González, Modrić, Rodrygo, Joselu, Lucas Vázquez, Ceballos, Fran García, Brahim Díaz, Arda Güler

Temple of football

Leipzig's media department have been speaking with their former goalkeeper Örjan Nyland - currently at Spanish side Sevilla - and one of the questions the team put to the Norwegian was what it was like to play at the home of Real Madrid. “The stadium is very cool, a real football temple," the 33-year-old responded. "It is one of the stadiums that every professional footballer dreams of playing in. The atmosphere is outstanding, the stands are very steep. Despite our narrow defeat with Sevilla, playing there was an unforgettable experience for me."

© IMAGO/Daniel Lakomski/Jan Huebner

Leipzig rising

Tonight's visitors have reminded us that their stellar performances in the Champions League over recent years have seen the Saxony-based side rise to 40th place overall in the tournament rankings. Leipzig have qualified for European club football's elite competition in six of the previous seven seasons and are now the fifth ranked German team overall in the competition behind Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke.

Closed roof

Reports suggest that the venue for tonight's game, the recently updated Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, will have its roof closed, which should make for an interesting atmosphere with 80,000 fans packed inside. If that comes to pass, it will be the first Champions League game to be played under a closed roof.

© JAVIER SORIANO

More from Leipzig

This time it's Dani Olmo, who spent seven years with Real rivals Barcelona's famed La Masia academy as a youngster. "It is a special stadium, and I'm here for the first time," said the Spaniard. "I hope to leave with the victory and with a place in the quarter-finals. It's special to feel the pressure of playing in my home country. Let's see what happens!"

© JAVIER SORIANO

The view from Leipzig

Marco Rose is certainly confident of a result tonight, telling his own pre-match presser: "We are convinced we can do it... We need a little luck, but we can help inspire that. In the first leg we showed Real Madrid that we can go toe to toe with them. Here we are, ready to show it again."

© JAVIER SORIANO

The view from Madrid

In his pre-match press conference, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said, "We have to do our best because the game is not over yet. We decided to give our best from the first minute. We evaluated the first leg, the good things and where we can improve. I think we are ready and we will improve. They are a very dangerous team when it comes to shifting."

© IMAGO/Federico Titone

Is Xavi your Rookie of the Month?

The Leipzig playmaker is once again among the candidates for February's vote.

Leipzig team news

Mohamed Simakan is suspended for the second leg after picking up his third yellow of the Champions League campaign at the Red Bull Arena. Castello should slot straight in alongside Willi Orbán after the pair played together at the weekend in preparation. Xaver Schlager should also return after a domestic suspension, while Loïs Openda is expected to lead the line again after coming off the bench in Bochum.

Real Madrid team news

Former Bayern boss Ancelotti remains without ex-Munich defender David Alaba, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Éder Militão. Toni Kroos (Bayern and Leverkusen) and Dani Carvajal (Leverkusen) are both also expected to start. Ex-Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is now Real's leading man and should also be in the team after missing the first leg with injury. Ex-VfB Stuttgart man Antonio Rüdiger will be at centre-back. Joselu, who has played for Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hannover, is a doubt with an ankle injury.

Real Madrid form

Los Blancos are enjoying a very good season at home and abroad. They are top of Spain's La Liga by seven points over Girona, while they also completed a perfect group stage in the Champions League, including wins over Union Berlin. Ancelotti's men have lost only twice in 2023/24 - both times against city rivals Atlético, once in the league and again in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey in extra-time.

Head-to-head

Although still relative newcomers to the European stage, this game will be the fourth time Leipzig have faced Real Madrid. The Bundesliga side lost 2-0 on their first visit to the Spanish capital in last year's group stage before becoming the first team to beat Carlo Ancelotti's men in 2022/23 in the return fixture (3-2). The first leg this season means Real lead the head-to-head 2-1. Leipzig's record against other Spanish opposition is two wins and a draw against Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad.

© IMAGO/Matthias Koch/IMAGO/Matthias Koch

The story so far

It was a tale of missed chances for Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena, as Brahim Díaz's second-half goal proved the difference for the Spaniards in the first leg. At just 1-0, though, this tie is far from over at the halfway stage.

2:03

Watch: Bochum 1-4 RB Leipzig - highlights

Leipzig came from a goal down to maintain their top-four push thanks to goals from Dani Olmo, Loïs Openda and Yussuf Poulsen in Bochum

Welcome!

Follow all of the action and build-up from RB Leipzig's UEFA Champions League round of 16 second-leg clash against Real Madrid right here!

About the clubs

RB Leipzig

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