The Champions League returns to the Bernabeu to host Lepizig on matchday two of the group stage. The white coliseum had not seen their team in the continental competition since May 4, in the semifinal against Manchester City. The match will be the second in which the Whites are without Benzema, injured against Celtic in Glasgow.
The match comes to Madrid in the midst of a debate about how Vinícius should behave on the pitch. The Brazilian, who was almost laughed at in his first two years, has broken into a great player last season and his dribbles and celebrations are considered provocations by many of his rivals, as happened in the previous league game on Sunday against Majorca.
Carlo Ancelotti came out yesterday at a press conference to defend his player. The data is unquestionable. Vinícius has scored in the last five games. He had never done it before. That, without Benzema, is priceless. In addition, he scored the goal in the final in Paris against Liverpool, which was worth the fourteenth. He and Rodrygo appear as the great young talents of a Madrid with a lot of thirty-somethings, like Modric, Kroos or Benzema himself.
Ancelotti does not want to enter the debate on whether Vinícius is a provocateur or a provoked one. "I see him as a great player who shows all his talent. He has extraordinary quality and it's quite normal for the rival to try to stop him. There are regulations that protect all footballers, not just Vinícius". For the coach, everything is clear: Vinícius just has to focus on the game and forget about the rest.
The only doubt in the Real Madrid eleven is who will replace the injured Benzema, about whom it is not yet known if he will reach the Metropolitano derby on Sunday. Ancelotti has opted for two solutions so far: Eden Hazard, who has not been very convincing, and Rodrygo, who has a good relationship with the Champions League but who, due to his physique, seems more suited to playing as a winger. Other possible solutions would be Mariano, the other nine in the squad, and Marco Asensio, without opportunities until now and who has lost feeling with Ancelotti due to his indecision when it comes to wanting to continue in the team.
Leipzig arrives at the Bernabeu duel after going through a crisis that led to the dismissal of their coach, Domenico Tedesco, and his replacement by Marco Rose. The recipe was the best vitamin because it comes from beating Borussia Dortmund (3-0) in the Bundesliga. In his debut in the Champions League, Shakhtar thrashed him in Germany (1-4).
Leipzig comes to Madrid with three sensitive casualties: Dani Olmo, defender Lukas Klostermann and midfielder Konrad Laimer.
Laimer has been the last to join the infirmary after suffering a ligament injury against Dortmund and his loss is possibly the one that weighs the most on his team, as he is usually key in the double pivot and in transitions.
The game will be played under unusual circumstances. The grass of the Bernabeu will not be the usual carpet. The high temperatures in Madrid have damaged it and the field will present several parts with very dry grass. A victory for the Whites, added to last Tuesday's in Glasgow (0-3), will leave them well on track in qualifying in a group that seemed very affordable for the European champions.
