Real Madrid, who qualified for the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the 27e times (a record), tries to secure the top spot in Group F by moving to a Leipzig side who have ambitions to join them in the round of 16.
The holders lost their first points of the 2022/23 group stage on the final day, following being held 1-1 by Shakhtar Donetsk.
On matchday five, Antonio Rüdiger scored Real’s equalizer in added time, but the Spaniards ten points, four ahead of second-placed Leipzig and five over Shakhtar.
Madrid will secure top spot in Group F if they avoid defeat in Germany, while Leipzig will join the holders in the Round of 16 if they beat them and Shakhtar lose the other matchday five fixture away to the Celtic.
Late goals from Federico Valverde (80e minute) and substitute Marco Asensio (90e+1) gave Los Blancos all three points at the Santiago Bernabéu on September 14. It was only Leipzig’s fourth game once morest a Spanish side, but the 74eUEFA match once morest a German club for Real.
The first leg was Leipzig’s first European game under new coach Marco Rose, who replaced Domenico Tedesco on 8 September.
About the teams
Leipzig
The first team to make their European group stage debut, in 2017/18, Leipzig are taking part in the UEFA Champions League proper for the fifth time in six years.
Two of Leipzig’s previous campaigns have extended to the knockout stages, with Leipzig reaching the semi-finals in 2019/20 before losing 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in a single game in Lisbon.
The German club missed the Round of 16 in 2021/22, finishing third in Group A behind Manchester City and Paris, despite scoring 15 goals in six appearances and registering their biggest European victory, 5-0 at Club de Bruges on the fifth day.
With Tedesco replacing Jesse Marsch as head coach, Leipzig went on to beat Real Sociedad, Spartak Moskva and Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League before being knocked out by Rangers in the semi-finals.
The 4-1 loss to Shakhtar on Matchday 1 was just the German side’s second loss in their last 14 European matches at their home stadium (8 wins, 4 draws); they beat Celtic 3-1 on matchday three.
Fourth in the 2021/22 Bundesliga, their worst league finish since 2017/18, Leipzig ended the campaign with their first major trophy, beating Freiburg 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the Champions League final. DFB-Pokal.
Leipzig’s three previous encounters once morest Spanish opponents before this season have all come in just over two years, with the first being a 2-1 win over Madrid’s local rivals Atlético in the one-off quarter-final. of the UEFA Champions League in Lisbon in August 2020, substitute Tyler Adams scoring the victory at the 88e minute.
Leipzig also won once morest Real Sociedad in last season’s UEFA Europa League knockout stage, coming from behind twice to snatch a 2-2 first leg draw (their only home game once morest of La Liga opponents) before winning 3-1 away. Emil Forsberg scored a late penalty in both matches.
Real Madrid
This is the 27e UEFA Champions League group stage campaign for Real Madrid, a record they share with FC Barcelona, and a 26th consecutive campaign. It is unprecedented. All 27 campaigns extended to the round of 16.
Madrid won their 14e C1 in 2021/22, beating Liverpool 1-0 at the Stade de France in the final thanks to a second-half goal from Vinícius Júnior. Carlo Ancelotti’s side had finished top of Group D with 15 points, winning five of their six matches, before securing spectacular victories once morest Paris Saint-Germain, holders Chelsea and Manchester City.
Carlo Ancelotti became the first manager to win four European Cups; he was tied with Bob Paisley and Zinédine Zidane with three Cups. The Italian is also the only manager to have led a team to five finals.
Karim Benzema, Dani Carvajal and Luka Modrić have equaled the record of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has appeared in five UEFA Champions League finals.
Benzema was the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League top scorer with 15 goals; ten have been scored in knockout matches, equaling Ronaldo’s record in 2016/17, also for Madrid.
Benzema received the Ballon d’Or on October 17, becoming the fifth French crowned following in particular Raymond Kopa and Zinédine Zidane, who then played for Real Madrid.
Madrid were also Spanish champions in 2021/22, their 35e La Liga title overall and a second in three years. It was only the fourth time he had won the league and the C1 in the same season, following 1956/57, 1957/58 and 2016/17.
Ancelotti’s side have already lifted a European trophy this season, with goals from David Alaba and Benzema helping them win 2-0 once morest UEFA Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the Super Cup UEFA in Helsinki on August 10. It was Madrid’s fifth Super Cup victory, equaling the record of AC Milan and FC Barcelona.
Madrid have won 10 of their last 19 away matches in the UEFA Champions League, lost six, including two of the last five.
Thanks to Madrid’s win over Leipzig on Matchday 2, the Whites took their overall tally once morest German clubs to 37 wins, 14 draws and 23 losses and their unbeaten record once morest Bundesliga sides to 13 matches.
Madrid’s last visit to Germany ended in a 2-2 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday two of the 2020/21 Champions League, ending their run of three away wins once morest clubs of the Bundesliga. The club’s overall record in Germany is 7 wins, 8 draws and 19 losses.
We know each other…
Capped 106 times for Germany, Toni Kroos was a Bayern München first-team player between 2007 and 2014, scoring 25 goals in 205 appearances in all competitions for the club. He won three Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals and, in 2013, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with the Munich club.
Kroos spent the second half of the 2008/09 season and the entire following season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen.
Alaba was a Bayern player from 2009 until 2021 when he joined Madrid. He appeared in the Champions League finals won in 2013 and 2020, while he also won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. He also won ten Bundesliga titles and six DFB-Pokals with Bayern.
Alaba’s record once morest Leipzig with Bayern is 6 wins 4 draws 1 loss, including a win in the 2018/19 DFB-Pokal final (3-0). The Austrian scored late as Bayern struck three times from the 84e minute to snatch a 5-4 Bundesliga win at Leipzig on May 13, 2017.
Also played in Germany:
Dani Carvajal (Bayer Leverkusen 2012/13)
Antonio Ruediger (Stuttgart 2011-15)
Álvaro Odriozola (ready for Bayern München 2020)
Jesus Vallejo (Eintracht Frankfurt 2016/17 ready)
André Silva scored nine Spanish La Liga goals in 27 appearances for Sevilla in 2018/19, including two in the 3-0 home win over Madrid on September 26, 2018.
Olmo (Terrassa) and Hugo Novoa (Bertamiráns) were both born in Spain.
Rüdiger and Timo Werner played together at Chelsea between 2020 and 2022, including winning the Champions League in 2020/21.
Selected teammates:
Josko Guardiol and Luka Modric (Croatia)
Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema, Aurelien Tchouamen, Edoardo Camavinga, Ferland Mendy (France)
David Raum, Lukas Klostermann, Benjamin Henrichs, Marcel Halstenberg, Timo Werner and Antonio Rüdiger (Germany)
Konrad Laimer, Xaver Schlager and David Alaba (Austria)
Dani Olmo and Dani Carvajal, Marco Asensio (Spain)
Modrić scored in Croatia’s 3–1 victory over Xaver Schlager’s Austria in the UEFA Nations League on 25 September.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored the goal for Hungary in the 1-0 win over Rüdiger’s Germany in the UEFA Nations League on 23 September. Péter Gulácsi and Willi Orbán also played for Hungary.