Izuchukwu Okosi
A Brahim Diaz goal was enough to hand Real Madrid the advantage in the first leg tie of their round of 16 fixtures against RB Leipzig late Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League.
Diaz curled a great finish to the left corner after going past his markers with ease in the 48th minute as Real aims to gun for their 15th European title.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Spanish midfielder earned a starting berth in place of Jude Bellingham, who missed the game due to injury albeit went off injured himself
Real Madrid would need to avoid an upset in the second leg tie but with Bellingham expected to be back in action, the 14-time European champions are in a quest to reach the quarterfinals for the 12th time in the past 14 seasons of the competition.
The Spaniards threatened to add to their scoreline when Vinicius Jr let fly a shot from distance which saw the ball hit the post as he was teed up by Diaz.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was key to the Carlo Ancelotti’s men taking all three points as he kept out nine shots from Leipzig who had a goal scored by Benjamin Sesko chalked off in the second minute.
Real hosts the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu against the Bundesliga side on 6 March.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
