In the Zone: Real Madrid 1-1 Leipzig performance analysis

Real Madrid reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday night but they suffered an uncomfortable evening against Leipzig along the way.

In this article brought to you by FedEX, UEFA match observer Frank de Boer, working together with the UEFA analysis unit, analyses an impressive performance from the German side, who departed the competition with their heads held high following a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Team formations

Leipzig building up

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted afterwards that his team had struggled to deal with Leipzig in their build-up, and this video presents several examples of the visitors progressing the ball.

In clip one, we see they are not afraid to start from deep. What happens next is, with Dani Carvajal pressing right up the pitch, Leipzig exploit the space down Madrid's right thanks to Benjamin Šeško's excellent link-up play and the pacy run of Xavi Simons, leading to an early opportunity for Loïs Openda.

For De Boer, "the creativity of Dani Olmo and Simons was key to Leipzig's chances of winning", and Madrid began the match in a 4-3-3 in an attempt to limit this threat. "Madrid tried to control the game with Jude Bellingham as a false nine, playing compact when they didn't have the ball," he added.

As Ancelotti himself explained, he had sought to keep "Simons and Olmo under control with the two midfielders [Aurélien] Tchouameni and [Eduardo] Camavinga". Yet clip two shows how Leipzig were able to work the ball through them. Madrid are pressing in a mid-block, but the visitors create a 5v3 numerical superiority as they progress up the pitch.

In the second half, Ancelotti changed to a 4-4-2, but Leipzig still found ways through, as we see in clip three as they create another chance for Openda. Ancelotti added: "I went for a 4-3-3 to control there and give [Toni] Kroos the opportunity as pivot to step forward a bit more, but they managed the build-up well from the back with the centre-backs and midfielders. This gave us a problem and we couldn't apply the press higher."

Leipzig's attacking variety

UEFA's analysis unit saw Marco Rose's men attack in different ways. "They come out very quickly on the counter," said Madrid captain Nacho, and the first two clips in this second video show the visitors' quick transitions, with Dani Olmo – joint-second for ball recoveries in the competition this week (eight) and always forward-looking – playing a key role each time, first with his run and through pass to Openda, then by playing in Šeško.

Although Šeško was ruled offside, it is worth highlighting the two players who have raced into the box at the far post in the hope of a cross – an illustration of Leipzig's attitude.

Clip three shows Leipzig restart the play immediately after Madrid's goal, and what stands out is the composure and intent of Amadou Haidara, who turns away from pressure and plays a forward pass to Simons. Leipzig are back on the front foot right away and threaten an immediate reply with Simons' eventual shot being blocked by Antonio Rüdiger, who celebrates his intervention as if it were a goal, indicating the pressure Madrid found themselves under.

"They controlled the midfield in the second half with their greater aggression," added De Boer.

Leipzig's defensive approach

Given their 1-0 first-leg deficit, Leipzig were the team playing with more intensity and this was evident in their defensive work too.

In clip one, we see their 4-4-2 defensive shape and how they protect the half-spaces well, denying room to Federico Valverde and then getting tight to Camavinga to force the turnover. Then, once they have the ball, their first thought is to get players forward fast – and that urgency grew the longer the game went on.

Clip two offers another example of their work without the ball as they apply pressure at a Madrid goal-kick, forcing Andriy Lunin to kick long, which brings another turnover and another quickly crafted opportunity for Olmo, who finds space inside to receive the pass and get in a shot on goal.

For Leipzig, though, it was another opportunity missed and Rose, reflecting afterwards, said: "We have a lot of quality in many positions and are scoring a lot of goals in the league. Maybe we're lacking a little bit of experience in some situations, or the calmness that comes with experience."

Madrid's attacking threat

This was a night when Madrid, according to Ancelotti, struggled with the psychological aspect of defending a first-leg lead. "Even though I wanted much more energy applied, the truth is that we played with our foot on the brake almost throughout the game," he explained. "We played in a low block, but we were slow and not nearly vertical enough when we won the ball. Too many lateral passes."

Leipzig played with more purpose and had 20 shots to the hosts' 11 yet paid the price for their "lack of efficiency", as Olmo called it. And despite Madrid ending the first half with an xG of just 0.09 (their lowest for the first period of any game this season) and not testing the Leipzig goalkeeper in the first hour, they were the team to make the breakthrough via Vinícius Júnior. He ended the week with the most take-ons in the competition (nine, with a 44.4% success ratio) and was a threat with his 1v1 ability, as this third video illustrates.

In the first clip, the Brazil forward picks the ball up inside his half and surges upfield, carrying it into the Leipzig box in a sequence that ends with Kroos forcing a save from Péter Gulácsi.

It was not just Vinícius Júnior either. Clip two displays Rodrygo's ability to find pockets of space as he penetrates inside, combining with Dani Carvajal and getting in a shot on goal.

The video ends with the hosts' goal, which shows the directness – or "verticality", to quote Ancelotti – that was missing from much of their performance. The run from Vinícius Júnior drags Willi Orbán out wide to the Madrid left. Bellingham, driving forward, then attracts Haidara towards him, meaning there is space centrally for Vinícius Júnior to break into on his angled run into the box.

"It was the one time Leipzig were a little more open and Madrid punished them," said De Boer. Speaking afterwards, Leipzig captain Orbán, Player of the Match on his 300th appearance for the club, added the following honest appraisal: "There were some moments in both games that didn't go our way, but we have to take a look at ourselves. When I conceded the goal, I tried to show him to the outside, but then the inside lane was free."

Lessons for player development

"These analysis articles form part of a strategy of translating findings from our senior club and national team competitions into actionable insights for elite youth development. By looking at trends from the Champions League, men's and women's, these articles can be used as an engine for player development across the European landscape."
UEFA's head of technical education & development, Olivier Doglia