Champion’s League Match
22 January 2025
Ssore 5 – 1
Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu
Champions League Match
First Half Game Analysis
In defense, Madrid had Mendy, Rudiger, Valverde, and Asencio. Ceballos and Modric were playing the midfielder in the starting lineup group. Modric being the team captain as well. The formation was 4-4-2 for Madrid, with Vini and Mbappe in the front.
For the first 10 minutes of the game, Salzburg was doing a pretty good job as they created a couple of good chances. In the 10th minute, a goal shot from the left of the ground was pretty close, a foot or two away from the right post. A few minutes ago, a cross ball from the left was also quite good, but nobody could pick that ball. So far Madrid seemed to be happy to just possess the ball and play around.
Madrid got a corner ball in the 14th minute, but they could not utilize the ball at all in their favor. As I have noticed that Madrid had not been able to utilize as many corner balls to their favor most of the time. They are lacking the players who can well manipulate such chances into goals. Neither can they throw good balls into the box, nor are there enough players to head those balls into the goalpost with skill.
Up to the 15th minute of the game, ball possession was 56% for Real Madrid and 44% by Salzburg. Madrid had started pressing more into the Salzburg ground the last 3 or 4 minutes on.
About the 19th minute, Madrid got two corners one after the other; still, the chance could not be used in their favor at all.
In the 23rd minute, a sort of counterattack led by Vini on the left and he passed the ball meant for Bellingham or Rodrygo. Bellingham could not reach the ball, but Rodrygo did, and he clinically aimed for the far left pole of the post as he moved forward from the right, and the keeper could not reach the ball, and it turned out to be the first goal of the evening for Madrid. Rodrygo very accurately rolled the ball into the post, aiming for the far side pole.
Rodrygo scores 1st goal
By the 25th minute, Madrid had 4 corners and Salzburg just 1 corner.
Two minutes later, Madrid led a threatening situation where Rodrigo’s shot was blocked by a defender, and again Vini got to shoot, but his ball flew too high above the bar and for an out ball.
Bellingham fouled a Salzburg player in his own half at the 30th minute. The shot was headed by an opponent player; the ball comfortably fell into the hands of Courtois, so no problem for him.
In the 33rd minute, Mendy passed the ball into the box for Vini and Mbappe, but the ball was thrown a bit behind them, so the good buildup was gone.
Some sort of magic happens in the 34th minute of the game. Rodrygo got the ball on the left flank near the box, and he passed the ball to Bellingham. Bellingham, in return, backheeled the ball to him inside the box; Rodrygo once got the ball, took his right foot shot at the far post, and the goalkeeper could not reach the ball, hence a classic goal by Rodrygo once again. With this goal, Madrid was ahead by two goals to nil.
By the 37th minute, Madrid’s total passes were 267, while that of Salzburg was 126, with 91% of pass accuracy by both the teams.
In the 41st minute, Vini was challenged by a defender inside the box on the left. But the referee thought that it was a yellow card for Vini, but no penalty for him. Replays did not show any tackle there for Vini anyway.
Second Half Game Analysis
No changes of the players in the second half for the Real Madrid team.
In the 48th minute of the game, Rodrygo got the ball in his own half and ran toward the opposition half on the right, chased by several players. He passed the ball to Mbappe; he did not get the ball, and a defender passed the ball to the keeper, but as the keeper fumbled with the ball, Mbappe was able to snatch the ball from him and kick the ball into the empty net. This was something to watch for Madrid fans as Mbappe’s persistency paid off finally, adding a third goal for the team.
Mbappe’s goal
In the 54th minute, at one instance, Bellingham got the ball on the right flank, and he kept the ball with him and, in total, beat 6 players one after the other until his pass was cut off by a defender. It was something of Bellingham’s skill and hard work that he had been putting into all these matches so far for his team.
Vinicius showed his magic skill in the 55th minute; he received the ball from Modric on the left, and he rushed into the box on the left and beat two defenders. He shot the ball for the far corner of the post, and the ball found its home away from the goalkeeper’s stretching hands. It was a magical, solo attempt by Vinicius.
Alaba and Guler substituted Ceballos and Bellingham in the 64th minute of the game. Alaba playing his second game after his return to the field since his serious injury in December 2023.
Madrid got a corner kick in the 66th minute, and it was taken by Modric. He shot the ground ball toward Guler, who shot the ball hard toward the box, but it was blocked by a player, and the ball went out for another corner shot. This corner was taken by Guler, but the ball could not be utilized as it should have been.
There was another corner ball for Madrid in the 68th minute. It was taken by Guler, and the ball was headed by the duo, Asencio and Rudiger, and the ball went over the bar for an out ball. Asencio and Rudiger could not see each other, and while heading, they both collided, and the ball could not be driven in the right direction as it should have. It was a good build-up and a good try, though.
Alaba gave a long pass to Vini, at one instant, in the 70th minute. Vini well received the ball and made it into the box on his usual left, beat a defender, and threw the ball for Mbappe, but it was headed away in midair by an opposition player, or it could have been a good chance for the 5th goal of the evening.
There were some changes in the 71st minute: Mbappe was replaced by Endrick, and Rodrygo’s place was taken over by Brahim.
Up to the 72nd minute of the game, Madrid’s total attempts were 9, and 4 were on target. Salzburg had 8 attempts, and 2 were on target for them.
Brahim took a good close shot into the box from the left of the box in the 74th minute, but it was well blocked by the keeper. It was a good attempt by Brahim.
In the 76th minute, Vini got the ball from Valverde, just outside the box, and Vini did not have to do much as he easily slid the ball into the box just in two touches for their team’s 5th goal of the evening. What a pass and a grand finishing.
Vini scores
Rudiger was immediately substituted by a younger player, Jacobo Ramon. Ramon made his debut for the team, and he is 20 years old.
By the 82nd minute, Madrid had completed 649 passes while Salzburg completed 234 passes only.
Salzburg had a consolation goal in the 85th minute, and that was a good goal and a good build-up by the team.
In the 87th minute, Vini had one good opportunity and took the shot, though covered by many defenders in the box, but his shot was away from the target. There was a possibility for him to score a hat trick in this match. Looking at the replay, we found Endrick waiting on the right, but he looked offside, so it would not have made any difference anyway.
With this win, Madrid had qualified for the next round with Brest, and there too, Madrid must win to make it to the last eight or two-legged playoff.
Players Performance
Rodrygo was very accurate and scintillating on this day, and he rightly scored two goals for the team. He was seen working hard and facilitating the teams well. He was chosen for the man of the match.
Vini too scored two goals and might have scored more with a little more luck. He could play at his usual level and create some good chances. He was cool today and in a less complaining mood, which was good for the team and himself.
Conclusion
Real Madrid showed dominant performance and showed their attacking power and the ability to control the game. Many individual players could show their skill and talents during this match and performed well and scored goals. They needed such a performance to build up their confidence and to move ahead for the next round of matches in the Championship league table.
Statistics
Real Madrid Salzburg
Score 5 1
Possession 70% 30%
Attempted shots 14 9
Shots on target 6 3
Fouls 11 9
Yellow card 1 0
Corner Kicks 10 3