RB Leipzig were desperately unlucky not to get a result after losing 1-0 to Real Madrid in the home leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie.

RB Leipzig 0-1 Real Madrid
Goals: 0-1 Díaz (48')

Leipzig thought they'd taken the lead inside three minutes, but Benjamin Šeško was adjudged to have been offside as he headed in a Xaver Schlager cross. Andriy Lunin repelled a Benjamin Henrichs shot, while Peter Gulácsi had to be alert to a long-range hit from ex-Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos. Šeško continued to make a nusisance of himself up against a makeshift Real defence, but Leipzig were a touch fortunate to go in at the break level after Loïs Openda cleared a Aurélien Tchouaméni header off the line.

Brahim Díaz did put the visitors in front with a mazy run and finish soon after the restart. Leipzig tried to go straight back on the offensive, but Dani Olmo could not beat Lunin, with Šeško's rebound also saved. Lunin denied Olmo once more, the Ukrainian goalkeeper then kick-starting a counter that ended with Vinicius Júnior striking the woodwork. The stand-in Real stopper then foiled Xavi and Šeško, leaving Leipzig down but not out ahead of the return fixture in Madrid on 6 March.

Match stats

• Openda had scored four times across his first six Champions League games for Leipzig, prior to the Real defeat.
• Xavi is Leipzig's next biggest attacking threat, with seven goals and nine assists (two of each in the Champions League).
• Leipzig lost 2-0 in Madrid in the 2022/23 groups, but won the reverse fixture 3-2 on home soil.
• Die Roten Bullen are competing in the Champions League for the sixth time. They have reached the knockouts on three occasions, including the semi-finals in 2019/20.
• Real's injured midfielder Jude Bellingham produced 24 goals and 25 assists in 132 competitive appearances for Borussia Dortmund.
• Real's record across 29 Champions League games in Germany is: W10, D6, L13.

Teams

Leipzig: Gulácsi - Simakan, Klostermann, Orban (c) - Henrichs (Haidara 75'), Xavi, Schlager (Kampl 90'), Olmo (Elmas 75'), Raum - Šeško, Openda (Poulsen 75')
Unused subs: Blaswich, Zingerle, Lenz, Bitshiabu, Seiwald, Baumgartner, Lukeba, Jatta
Out: -
Coach: Marco Rose

Real: Lunin - Carvajal, Tchouaméni, Nacho (c), Mendy - Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos, Díaz  (Vázquez 84') - Vinícius, Rodrygo (Joselu 84')
Unused subs: Arrizabalaga, González, Modric, Modrić, Ceballos, Fran García, Arda Güler, Mario Martín, Paz, Alvaro Carrillo, Ramón
Out: Alaba (knee), Bellingham (sprained ankle), Courtois (knee), Kepa (groin), Militao (knee), Rüdiger (hamstring)
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti

As it happened!

0 - 1

(0 - 0)

Leipzig

FINAL

Madrid

Champions League
Round of 16, 1st leg Round of 16, 1st leg Red Bull Arena

90'

+ 4

Full-time: Leipzig 0-1 Real Madrid

Brahim Díaz's fine second-half goal settles this Round of 16, first leg at the Red Bull Arena in Real Madrid's favour. RB Leipzig had their chances in this game, most notably through Benjamin Šeško, but the Slovenian had an effort chalked out early on and found Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin in fine form thereafter. The Bundesliga side are far from out of the tie, however, and will look to turn things around in the second leg in Spain on 6 March.

90'

+ 3

No way through

Vinícius Júnior has a shot blocked by Haidara at the death.

90'

Time added on

We'll have four minutes of added time here.

90'

Substitution

Kevin Kampl

Xaver Schlager

85'

Šeško warned

Šeško picks up a yellow for a foul on Tchouameni, shortly after Vinícius had gone into the referee's notebook.

85'

Yellow card

Benjamin Šeško

85'

Yellow card

Vinícius Júnior

85'

Still Leipzig press

A Xavi corner eventually finds its way to Haidara, who volleys at the target from the edge of the area. Lunin gets his figertips to that one and prevents the hosts yet again.

84'

Double change

A double swap by Madrid, who see goalscorer Brahim Díaz limp out of the contest.

84'

Substitution

Joselu

Rodrygo

84'

Substitution

Vázquez

Díaz

81'

Šeško spurns another one

Haidara picks out the Slovenian who is away. It's been a bad night at the office for Šeško, however, with the Leipzig forward again foiled by visiting goalkeeper Lunin.

80'

Super Xavi

A fantastic volley from Xavi is well saves by Lunin.

77'

Poulsen booked

He hasn't been on the field all that long, but Yussuf Poulsen is already booked for a foul on Camavinga.

77'

Yellow card

Yussuf Poulsen

75'

Triple RBL swap

The hosts throw Poulsen, Elmas, and Haidara into the mix for the last quarter of an hour.

75'

Substitution

Amadou Haidara

Benjamin Henrichs

75'

Substitution

Eljif Elmas

Dani Olmo

75'

Substitution

Yussuf Poulsen

Loïs Openda

73'

Chances aplenty

Somewhat incredibly, after 24 chances (13 for Real Madrid, 11 for Leipzig), we've still only had one goal at the Red Bull Arena.

71'

Real Madrid hit the post

Lunin saves Dani Olmo's shot from distance. Madrid break and the ball falls for Vinicius Júnior, who strikes against the post.

Clock ticking down

Leipzig are beginning to run out of time in the first leg. The hosts are deserving of a goal here but just haven't been clinical enough in front of the target so far tonight.

© IMAGO/VITALII KLIUIEV

68'

Raum determined

Rodrygo this time turns provider for Vinicius, whose effort is blocked out by Raum.

66'

Carvajal sees yellow

Dani Carvajal fouls Xavi and that's a booking for the visiting defender.

66'

Yellow card

Carvajal

63'

Madrid chance

Vinicius Júnior tees up Rodrygo in space but the Real Madrid attacker can't keep his shot down and that's a bit of a let off for Leipzig.

61'

Not this time, Dani Olmo

Olmo picks up possession on the right before unleashing a shot that flies off target.

53'

Simakan woe

It's more bad news for Leipzig with Mohamed Simakan booked, meaning the defender is suspended for the second leg.

53'

Yellow card

Mohamed Simakan

52'

Almost Olmo

Lunin frustrates the Leipzig attacker, whose shot could have been better when well placed. Šeško's follow up is also dealt with by the Madrid goalkeeper.

50'

Díaz in full flow

That was a super goal from Brahim Díaz, who was in Real Madrid's starting line-up tonight to replace the injured ex Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham.

49'

Real Madrid lead

Brahim Diaz breaks down the flank before cutting inside, beating several Leipzig players and finding the corner of the goal with a superb shot. Top goal.

49'

Díaz

GOAL!

0:1

46'

Šeško involved again

Raum's corner is met by Šeško, who can't quite get his header right and Kroos is able to clear.

46'

Away we go again

Real Madrid kick off the second half.

45'

+ 1

Half-time: Leipzig 0-0 Real Madrid

The teams go in at half time and the hosts will be more than pleased with their first-half showing. Benjamin Šeško had a goal ruled out early on and the Slovenian may have broken the deadlock on three other occasions while at the other end, Aurélien Tchouaméni saw a header cleared off the line by Loïs Openda.

45'

Time added on

We'll have one minute added to the end of the first half.

42'

Tchouameni alert

The Real Madrid midfielder, playing in defence tonight, makes an important challenge to deny Šeško from breaking away on goal.

38'

Drop off

Perhaps unsurprisingly after such a fast start, this game has hit a slight lull in the last few minutes with some mistakes beginning to creep into the contest.

Attacking encounter

We've had an incredible 32 attacks in this first leg, with both sides sharing 16 each to this point.

© IMAGO/Franziska Gora

28'

Xavi a-ok

Leipzig's creator-in-chief Xavi was down receiving treatment earlier, which had coach Marco Rose looking on with concern. The Dutch wizard has since recovered and is looking back to his best now, however.

25'

Visitors upping their game

Madrid are beginning to get a foothold over proceedings and have upped their possession share to 53 per cent.

22'

Orban stands tall

The shot count is rising quickly with Rodrygo the latest player to have a crack following a flowing Madrid move. Willi Orban manages to get a block in.

20'

Šeško menacing

Olmo feeds Šeško, whose shot from a tight angle hits the side netting.

Solid entertainment

Marco Rose's side have been giving the home fans plenty to get excited about at the Red Bull Arena, with the hosts edging this one thus far. We await the night's first goal.

© IMAGO/Sven Sonntag

18'

End-to-end

After a slight drop in pace, the game is end-to-end once again. Toni Kroos wallops a shot at the goal which Gulácsi saves while at the other end, Tchouameni blocks one more Šeško effort.

14'

Henrichs has a go

The Leipzig full back does like a crack at goal and he's tried one from distance here, with Lunin equal to the effort. Plenty to be encouraged about here for the Bundesliga side.

10'

Hosts on the attack again

Šeško is set free and has goalkeeper Lunin in his sights! The Real Madrid custodian wins this battle, keeping the Leipzig forward's shot out with his legs.

8'

Gulácsi saves

Tchouameni has a header cleared away by Openda before home goalkeeper Gulácsi fields a low drive from Camavinga. Real Madrid have been growing into this game in recent minutes.

5'

VAR decision

In that disallowed Leipzig goal, it was Benjamin Henrichs and not Šeško who was adjudged to have been offside. Henrichs was obstructing the goalkeeper's view in the build-up.

4'

Leipzig come again

This has been a terrific opening by Marco Rose's team. Olmo finds Šeško who swipes at the ball, which ends up in Lunin's grateful hands.

3'

Goal disallowed!

Leipzig fans were on their feet after Šeško had the ball in the Madrid net from Schlager's knock down. The Slovenian forward was offside, however.

2'

RBL attack early on

A very promising start from Leipzig here and they've won a corner pretty much straight from the off. David Raum to take ...

1'

Peeeep!

Game on in Saxony: it's Leipzig against Real Madrid and it doesn't get much bigger than this!

UCL anthem time

The famous tune is belting out around the stadium and as the camera pans across the players' faces, it's determination and focus all around.

Electric atmosphere

The Red Bull Arena is filling quickly as we edge ever closer to kick off on this special night in Saxony. Can Leipzig pull off one more massive win against Real Madrid in the Champions League? We don't have long to wait to find out.

Leipzig on the front foot

Home coach Marco Rose makes just one change to the side that started last weekend's 2-2 draw against Augsburg with Mohamed Simakan in for Kevin Kampl, who drops to the bench. Benjamin Šeško and Leipzig's top-scorer Loïs Openda, who both netted at the weekend, are given the go-ahead in attack once more. Dani Olmo and Xavi will look to provide the creativity behind the front two for Die Roten Bullen.

© IMAGO/Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch

Bellingham ruled out

Coach Marco Rose felt that Jude Bellingham's injury - picked up in the weekend win against Girona - may have been overplayed, but the ex Borussia Dortmund man is out tonight, with Brahim Díaz filling in in midfield for the visitors. Elsewhere, ex-Bayern Munich man David Alaba is also missing for Madrid, as are Thibaut Courtois, Éder Militão and Antonio Rüdiger.

© Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Leipzig starting XI

Gulácsi - Simakan, Klostermann, Orban (c) - Henrichs, Xavi, Schlager, Olmo, Raum - Šeško, Openda

Leipzig subs

Blaswich, Zingerle, Lenz, Bitshiabu, Elmas, Haidara, Poulsen, Seiwald, Baumgartner, Lukeba, Jatta, Kampl

Real Madrid starting XI

Lunin - Carvajal, Tchouaméni, Nacho (c), Mendy - Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos, Díaz - Vinícius, Rodrygo

Real Madrid subs

Arrizabalaga, González, Modric, Joselu, Lucas Vázquez, Modrić, Ceballos, Fran García, Arda Güler, Mario Martín, Paz, Alvaro Carrillo, Ramón

Teams imminent

Tonight's teams are soon to be revealed. Who will coach Marco Rose send into battle for this mouthwatering Round of 16 first leg and will Jude Bellingham be fit to make it into Real Madrid's plans? We're about to find out.

RBL can rain on Spain

On the other hand, Leipzig's record against Spanish opposition is solid, and reads: W3 D1 L1 F10 A8. As well as beating Real Madrid at home last season and Real Sociedad (in the Europa League) in 2022, Die Roten Bullen also saw off Atlético Madrid in the 2020 UCL quarter-finals, with Dani Olmo (pictured) on target in the one-off game in Lisbon.

© Peter Schatz, Imago

Leipzig's motivation

Leipzig have managed to win just one of their last three round of 16 ties compared to Madrid's 11 victories in their last 16 knockout ties at this stage of the Champions League. The challenge of getting past the 14-time winners is a tough one for Marco Rose's men but attempting to improve on that aforementioned record is one more motivating factor.

© IMAGO/Matthias Koch

View from Madrid

Visiting coach Carlo Ancelotti has had his say on Leipzig ahead of tonight's game. "We're playing against a powerful rival who are filled with quality and play football with intensity, the Italian commented, before highlighting the merits of his own team. "We're going into the game in good form. We're on a decent run and having a good moment. My team is hopeful and motivated," the 64-year-old said.

8:36

Watch Bundesliga Beyond with Dani Olmo!

The Bundesliga has teamed up with partner EA Sports and 433 to bring you a monthly chat and challenge with one of the league's current stars. February’s edition is with Leipzig’s Dani Olmo. Watch the Spanish playmaker have his Ultimate Team knowledge tested, attempt to draw teammate Xavi and reveal his favourite holiday destinations. And you can win exclusive prizes by signing up for free!.

1:27

Watch: Every Benjamin Šeško goal in 2023/24

The Slovenia international has shown his eye for goal of late, scoring once in each of his last three Bundesliga outings. Here are all six of his career league strikes for Leipzig so far...

Rose on Bellingham's possible absence

“I’ll only believe he won’t play if he’s not in the stadium tomorrow. I know him and I know he’ll be doing everything he can to play in a Champions League game. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s done so well, although I was a bit surprised that he’s scored so many goals. I was his coach for a year. He’s a great boy and a brilliant footballer with an unbelievable mentality.”

© Getty Images

5:23

Watch: All Loïs Openda's Bundesliga goals and assists so far

Belgium forward Loïs Openda has made an impressive start to his RB Leipzig career with 15 goals and four assists from 21 Bundesliga appearances. Check out all of them in the video above!

Rose's view of Madrid

“We’re looking forward to the challenge in our own stadium. It’s what we worked for all of last season. We’re talking about Real Madrid, one of the most in-form teams in Europe. They’ve developed brilliantly over the last year and are in extraordinary shape all over the pitch. They’re very flexible and use the wings a lot. I’m impressed by the way they chase down every metre when they don’t have the ball and their willingness to defend compactly. They’re a team that knows how to win the Champions League."

© Getty Images

3:58

Watch: Augsburg 2-2 Leipzig

Loïs Openda scored one and missed a late penalty as Leipzig were held to a draw in Augsburg on Saturday, a result that leaves them fifth in the Bundesliga standings, three points behind Borussia Dortmund in fourth.

Head to head

These teams have only met twice competitively before, during the 2022/23 group stage. The Spanish side won 2-0 in Madrid in September 2022, scoring twice in the final 10 minutes to hand Leipzig boss Marco Rose his first defeat at the club. Die Roten Bullen exacted revenge just over a month later though, earning a 3-2 success back on home soil.

Hello and welcome!

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live match coverage of this round of 16 first leg. We'll be keeping you updated of all the pre-match news as it happens, as well as providing a blow-by-blow account from kick-off.

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