Fourteen-time Champions League winners Real Madrid will endeavour to secure their spot in the quarter-finals when they welcome RB Leipzig to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday night.
Los Blancos are currently enjoying a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions, although the La Liga leaders were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at Valencia last weekend, with Vinicius Junior netting two second-half goals to salvage a point.
Leipzig, meanwhile, travel to the Spanish capital on the back of beating VfL Bochum 4-1 away from home last Saturday to strengthen their hopes of securing a top-four finish in the Bundesliga.
Real Madrid and Leipzig will lock horns for the fourth time on Wednesday, and here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two clubs.
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HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Previous meetings: 3
Real Madrid wins: 2
Draws: 0
RB Leipzig wins: 1
Real Madrid and Leipzig first butted heads during the Champions League group stage of the 2022-23 campaign, with both clubs securing a top-two finish in Group F to advance to the last 16.
Their first-ever meeting on matchday two at the Bernabeu appeared to be heading for a goalless draw, until two strikes in the final 10 minutes from Federico Valverde and Marco Asensio helped Los Blancos claim maximum points in a 2-0 victory.
Leipzig's dynamic attacking trio of Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku and Timo Werner were unsuccessful in their attempts to breach a resilient Real Madrid backline in Spain, but the latter two made the net ripple in a famous 3-2 home triumph against the reigning European champions just over a month later.
Just five minutes after Josko Gvardiol – now at Manchester City – opened the scoring with a close-range header, Nkunku – now at Chelsea – pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty area before smashing a shot from around eight yards out in off the crossbar to double Leipzig's lead on the 18-minute mark.
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Vinicius Junior then reduced the deficit for Real Madrid with a smart header directed into the bottom corner on the stroke of half time, but Werner restored Leipzig's two-goal cushion nine minutes from time with a close-range tap-in following a swift counter-attack.
Rodrygo pulled one back for Los Blancos from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, but Die Roten Bullen held on for a memorable victory, becoming the first German club since Borussia Dortmund in 2012-13 to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage.
Marco Rose's men were unable to come out on top in their most recent home meeting with Real three weeks ago, though, as they were condemned to a narrow 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie. Benjamin Sesko could have scored a first-half hat-trick for Leipzig on another day, but it was Brahim Diaz who stole the headlines for the visitors.
In the absence of star midfielder and former Dortmund man Jude Bellingham, Diaz stepped up for Carlo Ancelotti's side and netted the game's only goal three minutes after half time – a sublime curling finish into the top corner following an intricate solo run – to help Los Blancos take a slender first-leg advantage back to the Spanish capital.
Last three meetings:
Feb 13, 2024: RB Leipzig 0-1 Real Madrid (Champions League last 16)
Oct 25, 2022: RB Leipzig 3-2 Real Madrid (Champions League group stage)
Sep 14, 2022: Real Madrid 2-0 RB Leipzig (Champions League group stage)
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Oliver Thomas
