CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
RB Leipzig winger Xavi Simons sends Real Madrid warning ahead of Champions League game
The former Barcelona youngster, who is on loan from PSG, is confident the Germans can cause a UCL upset at the Bernabéu.
RB Leipzig may have a mountain to climb going into the second leg of their round-of-16 Champions League tie against Real Madrid, but they have certainly not given up hope of causing a huge upset at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday. The Germans are in confident mood after a comprehensive 4-1 Bundesliga win over Bochum on Saturday, with winger Xavi Simons, a former Barcelona youth team player, revealing belief is strong they can turn the tie around and reach the quarter-finals.
RB Leipzig attacker Simons: “Nothing is impossible”
“I believe in our team. We have to go out on the field and enjoy playing in this stadium. To all those who already think we are dead, I say ‘nothing is impossible’,” the Dutchman said in an interview with German newspaper Kicker. The 20-year-old has been in excellent form since joining Leipzig on loan from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, scoring eight goals and providing 12 assists in 33 matches in all competitions this season.
Former Barça youth star involved in Bernabéu comeback
Simons already has first-hand experience of a monumental comeback at the Bernabéu, not that he has happy memories of it. Two years ago, he was on the PSG bench as Karim Benzema scored three goals in quick succession to help Madrid overcome a 2-0 aggregate deficit in the final 30 minutes of a round-of-16 tie.
“I remember it being a very big game. We went there with a 1-0 lead from the first leg and we even took the lead in Spain. But then Madrid turned the game around with three goals”, Simons recalled.
Los Blancos memorably produced similarly stunning fightbacks against Chelsea and Manchester City in rounds that followed before winning their 14th European title by defeating Liverpool in the final. Simons and Leipzig will be hoping to stop their charge towards a 15th before it properly gets going, although the odds are stacked against them.