Real Madrid beat Leipzig in the Champions League and can now look ahead to next Sunday’s El Clasico. While they’re perfect in Europe, La Liga tells a different tale and Barcelona must win at all costs to avoid seeing the league slip nine points behind in October.
The Leipzig clash seemed a final rehearsal for Mourinho before Sunday’s showdown. He denied any testing, yet the absences of Konaté, Cucurella, Tchouaméni and Diomande hinted at a Clasico rehearsal, as did the Camavinga‑Bernardo double pivot. It wasn’t a Camp Nou trial, but one of those midfielders could start against Barcelona. One thing’s clear: Valverde will slot in at right‑back.
For my money, the early win was the morale boost Madrid needed. The whites opened strongly against a German side that sat deep and looked to counter. Both teams showed intent, but chances were scarce. In the 28th minute Romulo forced a clear chance, only for Courtois to make a fine save. The response came a minute later when Vinícius struck, his effort deflecting off Vandevoordt.
View match sheet
Real Madrid
Courtois; Valverde, Rüdiger, Huijsen, Carreras (Cucurella, min. 70); Bernardo Silva, Camavinga; Güler (Brahim, min. 78), Bellingham (Endrick, min. 88), Vinícius (Yan Diomande, min. 70); and Mbappé (Carlos Espí, min. 88).
Leipzig
Vandevoordt; Baku, Orbán, Castello Lukeba, Raum (Finkgräfe, min. 73); Seiwald, El Aynaoui (Reitz, min. 63); Gruda (Maksimovic, min. 63), Nkunku (Baumgartner, min. 78), Nusa (Gomis, min. 73); and Rômulo Cardoso.
Goals: 1-0, min. 44: Bernardo Silva. 2-0, min. 52: Arda Güler. 3-0, min. 83: Mbappé. 3-1, min. 85: Gomis. 4-1, min. 87: Diomande.
Referee: István Kovács (ROU). Booked Álvaro Carreras (min. 68) and Reitz (min. 70) with yellow cards.
Incidents: Match from the third matchday of the Champions League group stage, played at the Santiago Bernabéu before roughly 75,000 fans.
It finally got lively. Leipzig struck, but Nkunku met Courtois, who saved again in the 41st minute. Madrid then found the net: Bernardo Silva scored the 1-0 in the 44th, capitalising on a rebound after Arda’s effort was saved. Vinícius had a chance for 2-0 but was denied, and the hosts headed to the break with a narrow lead.
The whites emerged hungry after the interval. Arda Güler clinched the 2-0 in the 52nd after a Bellingham cross and a headed effort that slipped past the keeper. The referee and VAR confirmed the goal. Leipzig tried to respond, yet Madrid looked poised to extend their lead.
Mourinho shuffled the bench as the game wore on. He highlighted Vinícius’s substitution, noting the Brazilian couldn’t feature in the Clasico and didn’t need rest for Sunday – a logical move after a subdued performance.
Mbappé sealed the 3-0 in the 83rd with a strike from the edge of the box. Leipzig answered with Gomis pulling one back in the 85th, making it 3-1.
Diomande, with a powerful shot, added the 4-1 in the 87th. Another clean sweep for Madrid in the Champions League. Can Madrid keep this momentum into the Clasico?