Wolfsburg shock Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s hopes of an 11th European title were left hanging by a thread as they slumped to a shock 2-0 loss at Germany’s Champions League novices VfL Wolfsburg in their quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

The Germans were celebrating a memorable last-eight debut after Ricardo Rodriguez’s penalty in the 18th minute and Maximilian Arnold’s strike in the 25th stunned the visitors only four days after their ‘Clasico’ win in Spain over Barcelona. 

Despite making just one change to the lineup that started against Barca, Real coach Zinedine Zidane’s team will now go into the return leg in Madrid next Tuesday with a clear disadvantage. 

The Germans, last season’s Bundesliga runners-up who had scored only one goal in their last three matches, were more aggressive than the Spaniards and used their chances extremely well. 

“You have to bring that energy if you want to win,” said Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking. “I was laughed at when I said yesterday 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.”

The Spaniards, who saw Karim Benzema limp off with a foot injury in the 40th minute, enjoyed a strong start but never recovered from the quick two-goal punch and were lucky not to have conceded a third in the second half. 

“I am very disappointed. We had imagined it completely differently,” said Real midfielder Toni Kroos.”  “We started well, had a big chance early on. We did not underestimate them but struggled after those two goals. We had too little movement.” 

The Spaniards needed only 90 seconds to put the ball in the net but Cristiano Ronaldo’s effort was ruled offside. 

They kept up the pressure and Frenchman Benzema came close minutes later when his shot was blocked by Wolfsburg’s Diego Benaglio. But it was the hosts who struck first after being awarded a penalty when Andre Schuerrle went down in the box in a challenge with Casemiro.

Rodriguez sent Keylor Navas the wrong way before Wolfsburg struck again seven minutes later with Arnold sliding in to complete a superb passing move that left the Real backline dazed.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane urged his side to remain calm after their loss at VfL Wolfsburg. The Frenchman, who took over from the sacked Rafael Benitez in January, said the 10-times European Cup winners could still turn the tie around in Madrid next week against Wolfsburg, who are playing in their first quarter-final.

“It is always disappointing to lose a Champions League game, especially the way we lost it,” he told reporters. “But we need to remain calm and united. “We won’t go crazy now. We have to believe and know that we have a difficult game and see if we can turn it around. That is what happens when you don’t play with intensity,” he added.