Champions League: Late goals seal win for Real Madrid; Sevilla held in Copenhagen

Madrid (Spain): Real Madrid scored two late goals to beat RB Leipzig 2-0 to maintain their 100 percent start to their UEFA Champions League defense.

Fede Valverde continued his excellent recent run of form to put Madrid ahead ten minutes from the end of what had been an even game on Wednesday night.

The Uruguayan opened the scoring with a left-foot strike after receiving a diagonal pass from Vinicius Jr., before cutting inside and shooting into the bottom corner of the net.

Marco Asensio took advantage of a rare opportunity this season when he netted Madrid’s second goal in injury time, taking a pass from Toni Kroos on the left of the pitch before smashing the ball home.

The two goals decided a close game in which Leipzig had the best chances in the first half, with Christopher Nkunku twice denied by excellent saves by Thibaut Courtois and just failing to get on the end of a cutback from Timo Werner with the net gaping in front of him.

Real Madrid’s only threat to the Leipzig goal in the first half was an effort from Luka Modric that drifted wide.

Meanwhile, fellow Spanish club Sevilla’s Champions League future continues to look complicated after Julen Lopetegui’s side were held to a goalless draw away to Copenhagen, reports Xinhua.

Sevilla managed just one shot on target in the entire game, while the home side only had one effort between the posts in the second half.

The result keeps the pressure on Lopetegui, whose side faces a tough visit to Villarreal on Sunday.

In other matches on Wednesday night, Napoli continued their brilliant run after beating Liverpool as they got the better of Scotland’s Rangers 3-0 at home, Italian giants AC Milan outplayed Dynamo Zagreb 3-1 at home while fellow Italians Juventus went down to Portuguese club Benfica 2-1.

–IANS

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