Real Madrid through to Champions League quarter-finals

Real Madrid were held to a draw by Leipzig in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie and capitalised on a 0-1 first leg scoreline to book their place in the quarter-finals. Vini Jr. gave Madrid the lead in the 65th minute, but the German side equalised three minutes later. Madrid withstood the pressure until the end and will be in the draw on 15 March in Nyon.

A jam-packed Santiago Bernabéu experienced another spectacular European night on the club's 122nd birthday. The game got off to a pulsating and hard-fought start. The first chance fell to Ancelotti's men when Tchouameni's cross was flicked over by Vini Jr. with his shoulder (12 mins). Leipzig responded immediately with a couple of lightning-quick counter-attacks, but Openda was unable to find the target on either occasion. The Whites patiently built up play, but the Germans left no gaps in defence and tried to punish the hosts with their speedy transitions. Marco Rose's side came close to opening the scoring on two occasions before the break. First with a curling effort from Simons that Lunin pushed away, and then with a powerful strike from Openda that narrowly missed the left-hand post.

The game picked up in the second half and Madrid began to penetrate the opposition's box more often. In the 63rd minute, Carvajal played a neat through ball to Rodrygo, whose shot was blocked by Gulácsi. But with the next move, Real Madrid made no mistake. Kroos broke up play as Leipzig were on the attack and the German fed Bellingham who drove the length of the pitch before slipping in Vini. Jr. and the Brazilian scored with an emphatic first-time finish (65’).

Madrid seal quarter-final place
The visitors made it 1-1 in the 68^th minute when their corner kick was only half cleared and Raum swung the ball back into the box for Willi Orban to glance a diving header into the bottom corner of the net. The game was wide open by this stage, and on one occasion, Valverde tried his luck with a fierce shot from just outside the area. In the 81st minute, Orbán's header went inches wide. Seven minutes later it was Rodrygo's turn to go close. After a lovely piece of skill the Brazilian was unable to get his right-footed effort past the keeper. The Germans tried to force extra time and Dani Olmo came within a whisker of doing so, but his lobbed effort struck the crossbar. Ancelotti's side held on and booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.