Real Madrid 5-1 RB Salzburg: Rodrygo And Vinicius Jr Score Two In Crucial UEFA Champions League Tie
Real Madrid moved to within one point of the UEFA Champions League automatic qualification places with a 5-1 victory over RB Salzburg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr both found the back of the net twice, with Kylian Mbappe adding another goal to secure the win for Los Blancos.
Although Carlo Ancelotti’s men were in desperate need of a win, the game got off to an uneventful start. Neither Real Madrid nor RB Salzburg managed to register a shot on target in the opening quarter of the match.
However, that all changed in the 23rd minute when Rodrygo struck the ball past Janis Blaswich inside the area to give Los Blancos the lead.
The pace of the match increased following that goal, and RB Salzburg had a notable chance of their own in the 30th minute, but Samson Baidoo’s header was easily saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Four minutes later, Jude Bellingham cleverly set up Rodrygo, who expertly curled the ball into the net from the left-hand side and doubled Real Madrid’s advantage.
After halftime, Real Madrid extended their lead to 3-0. Mbappe, who opened up about the mental challenges he faced at the beginning of his Los Blancos career earlier this week, scored after capitalizing on a mistake by goalkeeper Blaswich.
Ancelotti’s team continued to dominate, and Vinicius netted a fantastic individual goal in the 55th minute following an inch-perfect pass from Luka Modric.
From that point, RB Salzburg struggled to get back into the game. With the job virtually done, Ancelotti gave minutes to players like David Alaba and Arda Guler as the second half progressed.
Despite their comfortable lead, Los Blancos still had more to offer, with Vinicius skillfully netting his second goal of the game in the 77th minute.
After that strike, youngster Jacobo Ramon made his debut for Real Madrid. However, the home side's clean sheet was spoiled a few minutes later by a consolation goal from Mads Bidstrup.
Ultimately, Real Madrid clinched another crucial win in their Champions League campaign. Their next and final game in the league phase will be an away match against Ligue 1 side Brest on January 29.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy, Ceballos, Modric (c), Bellingham, Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.
Subs: Lunin, Alaba, Andres, Diaz, Endrick, Garcia, Gonzalez, Guler, Ramon, Tchouameni, Vallejo.
Goals: Rodrygo (23', 34') Mbappe (48') Vinicius Jr (55', 77')
RB Salzburg: Blaswich (c), Dedic, Baidoo, Blank, Terzic, Yeo, Capaldo, Bidstrup, Gloukh, Nene, Daghim.
Subs: Bajcetic, Clark, Diambou, Gourna-Douath, Hamzic, Kawamura, Mellberg, Morgalla, Piatkowski, Ratkov, Schlager.
Goals: Bidstrup (85')
Referee: Glenn Nyberg
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Danny has been covering soccer and the world of professional wrestling since 2021. He has previously worked for outlets such as Wrestling Inc., Sportskeeda, and Flashscore. You can follow him on X at @DannyWol11.
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