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UCL: Los Blancos manage to crush Braga in the Quarry
Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 24.10.23. | 23:59
Rodrygo finally finds the back of the net after 871 minutes, Bellingham on the scoresheet once again
Real Madrid secured a third consecutive win in the Champions League with a hard-fought 2-1 triumph over Braga. The result extends Los Blancos’ impressive start to the season to just one defeat in their opening 13 matches across all competitions (eleven wins, one draw).
Having recovered from a two-goal deficit to defeat Union Berlin in matchday two, Braga knew an equally impressive performance was needed against a star-studded Madrid side, who sat top of Group C with a perfect record from their opening two group games. The hosts started well in the early stages with plenty of possession inside the Madrid half, but it was the 14-time winners who found the breakthrough in the 17th minute when excellent wing play from Vinícius Júnior set up Rodrygo for an opportunistic finish inside the six-yard box.
Armed with the momentum, Los Blancos looked to press home their advantage before the half-hour mark, however, Vinícius Jr saw two efforts well-saved by Matheus in the Braga goal, as the Portuguese side kept the deficit down to just a single goal. That provided Artur Jorge’s men with some encouragement as halftime approached, and Ricardo Horta came close to levelling the scores when his goal-bound strike was superbly blocked by Antonio Rüdiger.
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Carlo Ancelotti’s side came flying out the blocks in the early stages of the second half, but Matheus again stood firm to thwart powerful efforts from Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga. Despite those missed opportunities, Madrid’s persistence was finally rewarded on the hour mark, as Bellingham received a clever pass from Vinícius Jr before stroking a clinical finish into the bottom corner. Undeterred, Braga pulled a goal back just two minutes later through Álvaro Djaló, who fired home after good work from Simon Banza - setting up a fascinating final 25 minutes.
Roared on by the fervent home support, Braga nearly found an equaliser late on when Horta was denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga, but that proved to be the hosts’ best opportunity of salvaging a dramatic point as the visitors held firm to secure a hard-earned victory, continuing their 100% start to the Champions League campaign. As for Jorge’s men, they’ll be desperate to bounce back in the reverse fixture in matchday four as they travel to the Bernabéu sitting three points adrift of the top two in Group C.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Group stage - matchday 3
Tuesday
Inter - Salzburg 2-1 (1-0)
/Sanchez 19, Calhanoglu 63 pen - Gloukh 57/
Galatasaray - Bayern 1-3 (1-1)
/Icardi 30 pen - Coman 8, Kane 73, Musiala 79/
Man. Utd. - Copenhagen 1-0 (0-0)
/Maguire 72/
Union Berlin - Napoli 0-1 (0-0)
/Raspadori 65/
Sevilla - Arsenal 1-2 (0-1)
/Gudelj 59 - Martinelli 45+4, Gabriel Jesus 53/
Benfica - Sociedad 0-1 (0-0)
/Barrenetxea 63/
Lens - PSV 1-1 (0-0)
/Wahi 65 - Bakayoko 55/
Braga - Real Madrid 1-2 (0-1)
/Djalo 63 - Rodrygo 16, Bellingham 61/
Wednesday
19.45: (1.90) Feyenoord (3.70) Lazio (4.40)
19.45: (1.18) Barcelona (8.50) Shakhtar (16.0)
22.00: (1.80) PSG (3.70) Milan (5.00)
22.00: (1.80) Newcastle (3.70) Dortmund (5.00)
22.00: (3.90) Celtic (3.60) Atl.Madrid (2.05)
22.00: (15.0) Young Boys (7.25) Man.City (1.22)
22.00: (1.28) RB Leipzig (6.75) Crvena Zvezda (10.5)
22.00: (3.80) Antwerp (3.50) Porto (2.10)
***odds are subject to change
