Defending champions Real Madrid were enough for ten good minutes at the end - and RB Leipzig was again empty-handed in the Champions League. RB followed up on the gala performance against Borussia Dortmund (3-0), ran, pressed and invested a lot in the game, but Timo Werner and his colleagues didn't score.
Rose: "In the end you get what you deserve"
New coach Marco Rose had to take stock of his Champions League debut with Leipzig: "In the end, you always get what you deserve." Two strong actions by Fede Valverde (80th minute) and Marco Asensio (90th 1) turned the game upside down and handed Real to the late substitute former world champion Toni Kroos with minimal effort to 2: 0 (0: 0) - Victory.
"The level of my team only showed itself in the last ten minutes. The most important thing was not to concede a goal, so we didn't push too hard, it wasn't a fantastic game, but we had everything under control," said the Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, admitting: "Leipzig played very well, we defended ourselves to some extent, we put more pressure on the second half. We're at a moment of the season where we can't ask that much from the players, but they have to play smart and with your head."
Gladbach is waiting for RB in the league
After the 1: 4 debacle at the start against Donetsk, RB had a false start with zero points in Group F. Rose did not want to deal with the first defeat in his second game as RB coach for a long time: "Hook on Saturday we continue in Mönchengladbach." After the debut against Dortmund, it's again against an ex-club. The 46-year-old needs the full conviction and power of his team again. He doesn't accept excuses: "We still have one day less to prepare against Gladbach. But we won't change our style, even if it costs grains."
RB was stronger than the royals in almost every respect in the traditional Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. RB would have deserved a lead at the break. But Christopher Nkunku failed with his first action against Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Then Timo Werner (11th/30th), Emil Forsberg (21st) and again Nkunku (28th/34th) didn't score. It happened the way it had to. A strong individual action was enough for the Spanish champions to tip the statics of the game. With his right, Valverde let Abdou Diallo out in the penalty area, with his left he pushed in to take the lead. Asensio increased.
