Spanish giants Real Madrid were perceived to have been handed an easy draw when they drew German side Wolfsburg in the quarter-final of the Champions League. Most football predictions had this tie down as an easy Real Madrid passage to the last four.
However, Zinedine Zidane’s team suffered a rude awakening in the first leg of the tie losing 2-0 in Germany on Wednesday night, courtesy of goals from Ricardo Rodriguez and Max Arnold.
The defeat has shocked the world, as Los Blancos travelled to Germany in red hot form and looking like contenders to win the trophy. Such is the belief in the Real Madrid camp that they are likely to still believe they can make the semi-finals.
The second leg at the Bernabeu is likely to be a very different proposition for Wolfsburg, as only Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have won on Real Madrid’s soil this season. In fact Real Madrid have scored three or more goals in ten of their last 13 outings on at Bernabeu, so it will still be a major challenge for Wolfsburg to progress to the last four.
One key factor in this tie may be that Real did not score an away goal. That means if Wolfsburg can nick an away goal in Madrid in next week’s second leg it will be doubly hard for Zidane’s team to progress.
The men from the Spanish capital may have been defeated in the first leg, but they are far from down and out in the Champions League.