Real Madrid suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of Wolfsburg in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal clash at the Wolfsburg Arena last night.
The 10 time competition winners entered the match with a spring in their step following their 2-1 El Clasico victory against arch-rivals Barcelona on the weekend.
Confidence was sky high for the visitors whom sought to have a positive start to the tie, but unfortunately for coach Zinedine Zidane’s men, their play showed otherwise. It was an out-of-sorts Real side that lacked the same creativity seen against the Catalans only a few days prior.
Early cries by Los Blancos for a penalty went unanswered, as forward Cristiano Ronaldo struggled to find any form or rhythm and was continually frustrated by the host defence.
Wolfsburg stunned their Spanish opponents as their aggressive attacking saw the hosts capitalise on a number of defensive errors made by the Galacticos.
The deadlock was broken via a penalty converted by Ricardo Rodriguez, following a Casemiro foul on Andre Schurrle inside the box. Only a few minutes later the Wolves added to their lead, as Bruno Henrique set up Max Arnold for an easy tap-in.
Despite the loss, Real are confident they can turn their fortunes around with a strong result at the Estadio Santiago Bernebau in the reverse fixture.
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A night of negatives for Madrid
It was a case of being too complacent for Los Blancos and letting the smallest, yet crucial errors, creep into their play. Credit must be given to Wolfsburg though, who sought to make the most of every opportunity afforded to them.
The visitors failed to capitalise on their chances in the first term and had a penalty not awarded by the referee. All this culminated in a result where the negatives far outweighed the positives.
Rodriguez’s initial goal was all it took for the mistakes to start to appear in Real’s overall play. Defender Danilo was continually losing balls and nearly all the time found himself caught out of position by an excellent Julian Draxler.
The pressure on the midfield was immense with Gareth Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema not tracking back and in turn allowing the wings to be easily exposed by the hosts.
Captain Sergio Ramos, who normally is the anchor of Zidane’s defence, appeared as though his mind was elsewhere and was unable to spot and stop key movements from occurring.
Karim Benzema’s injury added to Real’s woes, as it is the first time the side has had a 2-0 deficit since April 2014.
Wolfsburg and the curious case of Julian Draxler
There is no doubt that the star of the match was the 22-year-old German midfielder. Draxler’s quick wit and speed on the pitch was an asset for the side as he tore the left-wing to shreds.
The youngster was everywhere on the pitch and his creative mind impressed every onlooker in the stands. Not only did he make glorious runs out wide, but also cut into the centre of the pitch.
Yet the most exciting part is that his best is still to come and as he matures, his skills will be further heightened. His team, despite struggling in the Bundesliga, have won five Champions League matches in a row and have not lost at home in the competition since 2009, against a very different Manchester United than present.
Coach Dieter Hecking in his post-match press conference said his side were lucky at times, but displayed a commited front which found the gaps in play and attacked accordingly.
The Bernebau is one of Europe’s toughest fortresses, but if Die Wolfe play in the same manner, they are more than in with a chance.
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