RealMadrid

Brahim Díaz’s sumptuous solo strike gives Real Madrid edge over RB Leipzig

13-Feb-2024 22:00:56 | The Guardian

Well, were you really expecting two perfect Real Madrid performances in a row? This is simply not how Madrid do things. They harness their energies, take as much pride in the ugly as the beautiful, simply do the next thing that is required of them. And so after the evisceration of Girona came the last stand against RB Leipzig, a gruff, grizzled, grimacing win in which they spent long periods without the ball.

Their one moment of grace came courtesy of Brahim Díaz, who scored a wonderful goal early in the second half before limping off late on with a hamstring injury. Beyond that it was a largely even game, and if there was a note of regret for the home side here, it lay in those missed chances in the first half, the missed opportunities to force Madrid out of their comfort zone. Though Leipzig continued to push in the later stages, they had retained very little of the lawless chaos of those early skirmishes, the same chaos that has always defined their best sides.