Champions League - 1st Leg
WolfsburgVfL Wolfsburg2Real MadridReal Madrid0

Wolfsburg 2-0 Real Madrid

Rodriguez
Wolfsburg are competing in their first Champions League quarter-final

Wolfsburg stunned an out-of-sorts Real Madrid by comfortably beating the Spanish team in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

The hosts were awarded a controversial penalty when Casemiro was deemed to have fouled Andre Schurrle, and Ricardo Rodriguez converted from the spot.

Real were poor defensively and a rapid attack ended with Bruno Henrique setting up Max Arnold for the second.

The visitors created little, but should have been awarded a penalty early on.

Defeat was Real's first in a Champions League quarter-final since 2004, and leaves the 10-time winners needing a vastly improved performance in the return leg at the Bernabeu next Tuesday.

The Spaniards last overturned a two-goal first-leg deficit in European competition in 1987, when they beat Red Star Belgrade in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.

Remarkable Wolfsburg punish Real

Champions League: Marcelo's 'shocking' dive against Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking said his players would try to "annoy" Real, and the questionable penalty awarded by referee Gianluca Rocchi would certainly have irked the Spaniards.

But despite the fortuitous circumstances in which they took the lead, the quarter-final debutants deserved their first-leg advantage and could have scored more, so awful were Real in defence.

Marcelo and Sergio Ramos, in particular, were to blame for the second goal, which Arnold side-footed home from six yards.

Moments earlier, Arnold had nicked the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo inside his own half and was allowed to surge 60 yards unchallenged before nearly putting Schurrle through.

After the break, Schurrle should have done better when through on goal, while substitute Max Kruse forced a fine save from Keylor Navas in the dying minutes.

Ronaldo fails to shine

Real boss Zinedine Zidane said his team would treat the match "like a final" but his men were a shadow of the side that beat Barcelona in El Clasico at the weekend.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo made his 124th Champions League appearance, taking him to joint sixth in the all-time list

Zidane made just one change to the team that ended Barca's 39-match unbeaten run, yet they could not reproduce Saturday's performance.

Gareth Bale, playing on the left wing, was their most potent player and should have been awarded a penalty when the score was goalless. Ronaldo - making his 124th Champions League appearance - lacked clout, while Karim Benzema hobbled off early in the first half.

It was not a result many would have predicted beforehand, with Wolfsburg losing 3-0 to Bayer Leverkusen - their third game without a win in the Bundesliga, at the weekend.

Seven points adrift of fourth-placed Borussia Monchengladbach, they are in danger of missing out on next season's Champions League if they do not win the competition, yet in Julian Draxler and Schurrle the Germans proved they have players who can shine on such a stage.

Man of the match - Julian Draxler (Wolfsburg)

Julian Draxler
Once again, the 22-year-old stood out in a Champions League tie. The Germany international covered more than 10km, made three key passes and was even ever-present when needed in defence, tackling and clearing for his team.

The stats you need to know

  • Navas conceded his first goal in the Champions League after 738 minutes of play.
  • Real are 2-0 down in a Champions League game for the first time since April 2014, which was against Borussia Dortmund. That was the last time they lost by two goals in the competition.
  • Wolfsburg have now won five Champions League games in a row, extending their best run in the competition.
  • They have only lost one of their eight Champions League home games - 3-1 to Manchester United in December 2009.

What they said

Real boss Zinedine Zidane: "I'm not happy with how the game went, especially the first half.

"That's football - that's how difficult it is. That's what happens when you don't play with intensity from the start. We have to rest and think about the return leg because we still have the chance to change everything."

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale: "We're only halfway through the tie so we have time to turn it around. I had a clear penalty on me at the start of the game. I got smashed over.

"No excuses - we weren't good enough. It happens sometimes."

Wolfsburg boss Dieter Hecking: "I was laughed at when I said that we may have a chance. Real had their opportunities early on and we were a bit lucky.

"We pulled together, we found the spaces and played very well. Now we will go to Madrid, knowing that we have a chance to advance."

Line-ups

Wolfsburg

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1BenaglioBooked at 50mins
  • 8Vieira de FreitasBooked at 19mins
  • 25Naldo
  • 18Costa Santos
  • 34Rodríguez
  • 23Guilavogui
  • 22DiasBooked at 61mins
  • 16PintoSubstituted forTräschat 80'minutes
  • 27ArnoldBooked at 69mins
  • 10DraxlerSubstituted forSchäferat 90+3'minutes
  • 17SchürrleSubstituted forKruseat 85'minutes

Substitutes

  • 4Schäfer
  • 6Ascues
  • 11Kruse
  • 12Dost
  • 15Träsch
  • 28Casteels
  • 31Knoche

Real Madrid

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Navas
  • 23Danilo
  • 3Pepe
  • 4Ramos
  • 12Marcelo
  • 19ModricSubstituted forIscoat 64'minutes
  • 14Casemiro
  • 8KroosSubstituted forRodríguezat 85'minutes
  • 11BaleBooked at 69mins
  • 9BenzemaSubstituted forRodríguez Ruizat 41'minutes
  • 7Cristiano Ronaldo

Substitutes

  • 6Nacho
  • 10Rodríguez
  • 13Casilla
  • 15Carvajal
  • 18Vázquez
  • 20Rodríguez Ruiz
  • 22Isco
Referee:
Gianluca Rocchi
Attendance:
26,400

Match Stats

Home TeamWolfsburgAway TeamReal Madrid
Possession
Home39%
Away61%
Shots
Home10
Away21
Shots on Target
Home7
Away3
Corners
Home1
Away6
Fouls
Home13
Away8

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, VfL Wolfsburg 2, Real Madrid 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, VfL Wolfsburg 2, Real Madrid 0.

  3. Post update

    Foul by Isco (Real Madrid).

  4. Post update

    Maximilian Arnold (VfL Wolfsburg) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  5. Substitution

    Substitution, VfL Wolfsburg. Marcel Schäfer replaces Julian Draxler.

  6. Post update

    Offside, Real Madrid. Pepe tries a through ball, but Gareth Bale is caught offside.

  7. Post update

    Foul by Jesé (Real Madrid).

  8. Post update

    Vieirinha (VfL Wolfsburg) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  9. Post update

    Corner, VfL Wolfsburg. Conceded by Keylor Navas.

  10. Post update

    Attempt saved. Max Kruse (VfL Wolfsburg) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Julian Draxler.

  11. Post update

    Marcelo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Christian Träsch (VfL Wolfsburg).

  13. Substitution

    Substitution, Real Madrid. James Rodríguez replaces Toni Kroos.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, VfL Wolfsburg. Max Kruse replaces André Schürrle.

  15. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  16. Post update

    Delay in match (Real Madrid).

  17. Post update

    Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Dante.

  18. Substitution

    Substitution, VfL Wolfsburg. Christian Träsch replaces Bruno Henrique.

  19. Post update

    Attempt missed. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Jesé following a corner.

  20. Post update

    Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Ricardo Rodríguez.

As It Stood

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Real Madrid65101931616
2PSG64111211113
3Shakhtar Donetsk6105714-73
4Malmö FF6105121-203

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Wolfsburg640296312
2PSV Eindhoven631287110
3Man Utd62227708
4CSKA Moscow611459-44

C

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Atl Madrid6411113813
2Benfica6312108210
3Galatasaray6123610-45
4FC Astana6042511-64

D

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Man City6402128412
2Juventus632163311
3Sevilla6204811-36
4B Mgladbach6123812-45

E

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Barcelona64201541114
2Roma61321116-56
3B Leverkusen6132131216
4BATE Borisov6123512-75

F

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Bayern Munich65011931615
2Arsenal6303121029
3Olympiakos6303613-79
4Dinamo Zagreb6105314-113

G

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Chelsea64111331013
2Dynamo Kyiv632184411
3FC Porto631298110
4Maccabi Tel-Aviv6006116-150

H

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Zenit St Petersburg6501136715
2KAA Gent631287110
3Valencia620459-46
4Lyon611459-44
View full Champions League tables

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