Before the last group match day, all four teams had a chance of reaching the round of 16. Finally, Real Madrid moved into the knockout round as group winners (10 points). Gladbach (8) benefited from the direct comparison won against the tied Donetsk (8). Inter (6) finished fourth. The last time Borussia was in the round of 16 of the European Cup, the predecessor of the Champions League, was in 1977.
Real Madrid took the initiative at the beginning. If Gladbach was on the ball, Real was very high and even attacked Borussia’s build-up game in their penalty area. Coach Zinédine Zidane apparently relied on an early lead – and the plan worked: Lucas Vázquez had a lot of space, crossed from the right into the center and Benzema hit with a head (9th).
Gladbach was only rarely able to overturn the pressing of the Madrilenians, but then indicated dangerous attacks. Just like in the 25th minute: After winning the ball, Gladbach quickly switched, Florian Neuhaus sent Alassane Pléa into the penalty area, but the striker shot free-standing with his weak left foot next to the goal.
A little later, Real punished the exploitation of the chances with a similar goal as in the lead: Rodrygo crossed from the right wing and Benzema headed the 2-0 (32nd), again the defense had left too much space for both of them. Madrid could even have added up before the break, but Gladbach’s goalkeeper Yann Sommer steered a volley from Luka Modrić to the post (39th).
In the second half, Real took the pressure off Gladbach a little. Borussia came to the ball more often, but hardly found a gap in the compact Madrid defense. Real was again close to the third goal: First Sommer parried a Sergio Ramos header, then Benzema hit the crossbar with the margin (73). Five minutes later, Vázquez hit the post (78).
After the game ended, the Gladbach professionals had to wait for the result from Milan. Inter dominated the game against Donetsk and ended up with 20 shots, Donetsk only seven. Inter also had good chances in the closing stages, but didn’t hit the goal – Gladbach was allowed to cheer.
