Iker Bravo brace hands under-19s victory in Berlin

The Under-19s finished the Youth League Group Stage with a victory in Berlin. The madridistas dominated the game from the off and beat Union Berlin thanks to an Iker Bravo brace. Arbeloa's side will progress to the next round as group winners if Braga fail to beat Napoli by eight goals this evening. In the event of finishing top, they will go directly into the round of 16; if they finish second, they will enter the playoff round.

The Madrid academy side had to improve their goal average in order to secure top spot, and with this in mind, the first goal didn't take long to arrive. Youssef advanced to the edge of the box, laid the ball off to Iker Bravo on the edge of the area, and the forward hit a sweet shot to beat the goalkeeper and put Real Madrid ahead after 4 minutes. The Whites then peppered the opposition goal with attacks. Palacios almost doubled the visitors’ lead when he was through one-on-one against Stein, but the home goalkeeper stood firm to deny him (20’). Seven minutes later, Hugo de Llanos’s headed effort was well saved by the keeper. The Germans had a golden chance on the stroke of halftime after Madrid carelessly lost possession inside their own half, but Álvaro pulled off a fine out-stretched save to maintain his team’s lead.

Iker Bravo bags a brace

After the re-start, the hosts carved out another good chance to draw level, but Álvaro and Manuel Ángel came to the rescue (47’). Straight after, Manuel Ángel dribbled past two defenders into the box and was felled inside the area, but the referee saw nothing wrong with the challenge. The madridistas doubled their lead on the hour mark. Iker Bravo struck the visitors’ and his own second goal when he superbly volleyed in a pinpoint cross from Fortea from inside the area. Arbeloa‘s boys continued to create chances until the final minute but the scoreline remained unchanged.

MATCH INFO:
0-Union Berlin: Stein, Markgraf, Ackermann (Aliji, 31’), Kemlein, Engelbreth, Schleinitz, Ogbemudia (Ibrahimi, 72’), Grunwald, Asanji (Kalayci, 73’), Friedrich (Kramer, 40’), Prosche.
2-Under-19s: Álvaro G., Youssef, Manu Serrano, Joan Martínez, Fortea, Manuel Ángel (Pol Durán, 77’), Christian, Mesonero (Chema, 66’), Hugo de Llanos (Daniel Yáñez, 77’), Palacios (Paulo Iago, 83’), Iker Bravo.
Goals
0-1 (min. 4): Iker Bravo.
0-2 (min. 61): Iker Bravo.