Lunin and Brahim support Madrid against Leipzig

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Real Madrid destroyed Girona on Saturday, their closest pursuer in the League, the championship's top scorer, with such authority that not only did they score four but they did not allow a single shot on goal.

Three days later, they escaped with an advantage from the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in Leipzig, the fifth in the Bundesliga, thanks to a marvelous performance by Lunin, the goalkeeper who was a substitute for Courtois' replacement and supported the team in Germany by responding to the voracious attack by Marco Rose's team, and the weakness of Nacho, with nine stops.

As in classic times, Madrid took the victory with the combined inspiration of a goalkeeper and a striker.

The secondary Lunin and the secondary Brahim, who clings to every small opportunity.

He left a stroke of genius in Gulácsi's net and limped away.

Also him, who was replacing the fallen Bellingham.

RBLRB Leipzig

0

Gulacsi, Willi Orban, Mohamed Simakan, David Raum, Lukas Klostermann, Xavier Schlager (Kevin Kampl, min. 90), Xavi Simons, Dani Olmo (Elmas, min. 75), Benjamin Henrichs (Amadou Haidara, min. 75), Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda (Yussuf Poulsen, min. 75)

RMA Real Madrid

1

Andriy Lunin, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Aurelien Tchouameni, Nacho, Brahim Diaz (Lucas Vázquez, min. 83), Federico Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo (Joselu, min. 84)

Goals

0-1 min.

48: Brahim Diaz.

Referee

Irfan Peljto

Yellow cards Rose (min. 45), Mohamed Simakan (min. 52), Dani Carvajal (min. 66), Yussuf Poulsen (min. 76), Vinicius Junior (min. 84) and Benjamin Sesko (min. 85)

Madrid escaped a mess that was announced very soon.

Within two minutes he had already suffered two formidable scares.

The first corner was cleared by Lunin with his fists to the front, where he fell to Schlager, who knocked him to the ground.

The ball rose again toward Sesko's head.

He scored, but the VAR found something strange in Henrichs' position, which pushed Lunin in a place that caused the lineman to raise the flag.

The video arbitration room recommended disallowing the goal and Madrid breathed.

But only a few seconds.

Nacho, very imprecise, a slow point too, let Simons steal the ball from him in an exit, and the player trained at La Masia and on loan from PSG left Sesko alone in the area with the goalkeeper.

But she became flustered and Lunin stayed with her.

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Real couldn't find the spot, while Leipzig went again and again looking for Sesko, with Simons and Olmo.

The match was between the 1.95 Slovenian rush and the Ukrainian goalkeeper.

Olmo, undetectable at first between the lines, near the wing, once again left the forward in a one-on-one situation, which Lunin took out with his feet.

In the next one, Tchouameni came to the rescue, more confident and sharper than Nacho, who seemed the most out of position.

The weakest brick in the wall.

Leipzig tried to press from high up, with charges launched by Sesko, who chased the balls that went from center to center, and even a little further down.

The forward was also the first line of containment.

Real only managed to shake off the stress when they found Vinicius on the wing, where Rose had placed the Frenchman Simakan as special company.

Madrid began to peek into Gulácsi's area when the Brazilian opened his box of tricks: dribbles, passes with the outside;

fear, in short.

But Bellingham, injured against Girona, was not on the other side of his passes into the area.

His place was taken by Brahim, whom Ancelotti placed as a center forward in a 4-3-3 with Kroos as a pivot.

The man from Malaga had a hard time appearing from the nine zone, but when he dropped a little between the lines, Madrid saw the light a little more.

The final flash did not come from the center either.

Brahim received on the right wing, where Raum threw him.

But after falling almost on all fours, he recovered and continued towards the area, leaving two other opponents on the way, and then taking a rope between two others.

The goal helped them gain an advantage, but not for the team to take control of the match.

Leipzig continued to insist and Lunin emerged as the supporter of the result, the most inspired to deactivate the attacks along with Tchouameni, who dispatched a center-back game with kilometers and hierarchy.

The Germans pressed and Madrid bailed, but the local efforts had a dangerous side effect: spaces opened up for Valverde, Vinicius and Rodrygo to run.

They withstood the attacks on space from Openda, Sesko, Olmo and Simons, and flew away as soon as they recovered.

Rodrygo had a chance to end the dispute after one of those counters.

In another, Vinicius lost count of the rivals he left behind, entered the area, gently put it outside and hit the post.

The ball hovered around the goal, but there was no one to push it.

Despite everything, Madrid, weak and vulnerable, endured with Brahim's enlightenment and Lunin's consecrating night.

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