Player ratings as Brahim stunner seals victory

Real Madrid secured a scrappy 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash on Tuesday.

In a game which was full of attacking endeavour but often lacking in quality, it took a moment of magic from Brahim Diaz early in the second half to fire Madrid to a crucial win away from home.

Leipzig, who had an early goal ruled out, had plenty of good chances to find the back of the net but often came unstuck at the hands of the excellent Andriy Lunin in the Madrid goal.

How the game unfolded

Leipzig had the ball in the back of the net inside a bizarre first two minutes. Dani Carvajal strangely whipped the ball all the way from the right side of his box to the left to concede a corner, the aftermath of which saw Benjamin Sesko head home, but the flag was quickly raised and a VAR check ruled out the goal for reasons which were not immediately clear. A foul on goalkeeper Lunin appeared to be the justification.

Sesko then poked an effort towards goal just moments later but could not generate enough power to test Lunin, and the Ukraine international was called into action to deny Sesko once again ten minutes in.

Clear-cut chances were hard to find for Madrid. Toni Kroos’ long-range strike was comfortably saved by Peter Gulacsi, who wasn’t tested when Rodrygo failed to get enough contact on a nice cut-back from Vinicius Junior. That was about as good as it got for either side in the first half.

Just three minutes into the second half, however, Madrid stepped things up and took the lead. A glorious run from Brahim was finished with a delightful curl into Gulacsi’s top corner, injecting some much-needed quality into proceedings.

Rodrygo fluffed the chance to double Madrid’s advantage. Vinicius played his fellow Brazilian into the box but Rodrygo’s wild swing, admittedly under pressure, went flying high and wide.

With 20 minutes to go, Vinicius’ solo run ended with a toe-poke that flicked away off the post, while Lunin was needed at the other end to once again get down and deny a fierce strike from the increasingly frustrated Sesko.

Amadou Haidara sent a scorching volley heading towards Lunin’s top corner as the clock ticked down but the Ukraine international was once again able to keep the hosts out and seal the win for Madrid.

GK: Andriy Lunin – 9/10 – Was active early on when Sesko had three or four sights of his goal and continued to be a major thorn in Leipzig’s side with a…