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2022/23 UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Matchday 2
Real Madrid v RB Leipzig
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Manchester, England
Wednesday, 14 September 2022
Kick-off is at 21h00 CAT
Defending champions Real Madrid will be looking to make it two wins from two in the
UEFA Champions League group stages when they entertain RB Leipzig at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, September 14.
Los Blancos kicked off their title defence with 3-0 victory over Celtic in Glasgow on matchday 1, thanks to second-half goals from Vinicius Junior (56'), Luka Modric (60') and Eden Hazard (77').
Carlo Ancelotti's side have made an impressive start to the season after winning their opening five games in La Liga to top the standings by two points ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona.
The Spanish champions recovered from a goal down to crush Real Mallorca 4-1 on Sunday, although Ancelotti will be slightly concerned that they have yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this term.
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Hazard played in the most advanced role up front in the absence of Karim Benzema, but Ancelotti dismissed suggestions that Real failed to score in the first half because the Belgian was leading the line.
"We did not suffer from scoring at the beginning of the match because Hazard was in the team, but because not all positions were occupied on the field," the Italian said.
"For the future, nothing will change in this regard. Rodrygo may also play in the same position, and Hazard as a striker because he moves a lot."
The Red Bulls opened their European campaign with a disappointing 4-1 defeat at home to Shakhtar Donetsk a week ago and they will be targeting an improvement in Madrid.
Marco Rose's team have also struggled to get going in the Bundesliga, but registered their second win of the season on Saturday when they saw off Borussia Dortmund 3-0 at the Red Bull Arena.
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Rose expressed his delight with both the performance and the result against Dortmund and believes his squad has more than enough quality to win trophies this term.
"It's nice to score three goals and keep a clean sheet. We were very present from the opening minute and although it wasn't perfect, we were intense, confident and used the atmosphere of our stadium," the German said.
"Leipzig is my home and I identify very strongly with this area. I feel really good here, I like the people a lot and you could see that together we can achieve great things here!
"I'm pleased with how we played. A key to our win was definitely playing with a lot of tempo and demonstrating our quality. Simply put, the players in our squad are really good footballers!"
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 0
Real Madrid - 0
RB Leipzig - 0
Draws - 0
UEFA Champions League fixtures - matchday 2
Tuesday
18h45: Viktoria Plzen v Inter Milan
18h45: Sporting CP v Tottenham Hotspur
21h00: Liverpool v Ajax
21h00: Porto v Club Brugge
21h00: Bayer Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid
21h00: Bayern Munich v Barcelona
21h00: Marseille v Eintracht Frankfurt
Wednesday
18h45: AC Milan v Dinamo Zagreb
18h45: Shakhtar Donetsk v Celtic
21h00: Rangers v Napoli
21h00: Chelsea v Salzburg
21h00: Real Madrid v RB Leipzig
21h00: Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund
21h00: FC Copenhagen v Sevilla
21h00: Juventus v Benfica
21h00: Maccabi Haifa v Paris Saint-Germain
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