(Football news) In Group G, Marco Rose’s squad came in second place behind defending champion Manchester City, while Real Madrid crushed the opposition to win Group C.
Group G in the 2023–24 Champions League undoubtedly followed the pre-tournament script, as RB Leipzig, as predicted, held off Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade to take the runners-up spot, while Man City cruised into the sunset with a flawless record of 18 points from six encounters.
Die Roten Bullen were powerless to snap Man City’s winning streak in Europe’s premier competition – losing 3-1 at home and 3-2 at the Etihad to the current holders – but each of their other four Group G fixtures ended in victory, albeit not entirely convincing ones.
Indeed, Leipzig failed to keep a single clean sheet in the group phase and only managed 2-1 successes over Red Star and Young Boys either side of their five-goal Etihad extravaganza, but back-to-back qualifications for the knockout stages was the goal before the first Champions League ball was kicked, and the hosts now have a few wrongs to right from last year.
Leipzig’s European quest ended by virtue of an 8-1 aggregate annihilation at the hands of Man City in the 2022-23 last 16, and the Bundesliga winter break came at the most inopportune time for Rose’s men, who lost all three of their German top-flight matches in January before overcoming Union Berlin 2-0 on February 4.
Die Roten Bullen head into the first leg on the back of another domestic disappointment, though, being held to a 2-2 draw away to Augsburg to fall three points behind fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund, and not since October 2020 have the hosts kept a clean sheet in a Champions League home fixture.
Leipzig’s defensive shortcomings make for uncomfortable reading ahead of the arrival of Real Madrid, a team that easily defeated their nearest rivals for the La Liga title on Saturday. In their last ten home Champions League games, Leipzig has also finished at the right end of the field.
Those who make headlines Arriving in the capital, Girona trailed Carlo Ancelotti’s team by just two points in the rankings. However, a record-breaking brace from Jude Bellingham, which was sandwiched between goals from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, has made Los Blancos’ lead at the top of the standings uncontested.
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