Wolfsburg vs Real Madrid match report: Wolfsburg’s early salvo puts Real on brink of Champions League elimination

Wolfsburg 2 Real Madrid 0

Maximilian Arnold salutes the fans after Wolfsburg’s first-leg win (Getty Images)

Real Madrid suffered their first defeat in the Champions League this season against Wolfsburg in their quarter-final first leg last night.

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 over Barcelona.

Zinedine Zidane’s team will now go into the return leg in Madrid next week with a clear disadvantage.

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

“It was a breathtaking atmosphere and the fans carried us to this win,” Arnold told ZDF television. “But we should keep calm. We did the 50 per cent, now we need to do the other 50 per cent in Madrid where we must most likely play even better.”

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

The hosts were awarded an unexpected penalty when Andre Schurrle went down in the box in a challenge with Casemiro. Rodriguez stepped up and sent Keylor Navas the wrong way from the spot.

Wolfsburg struck again seven minutes later as Arnold slid in to complete a superb passing move.

Things got even worse with Benzema taken off minutes before the break. Ronaldo, with 13 goals this season, was rarely left without two players marking him. The Wolfsburg midfielder Bruno Henrique was outstanding in his defensive duties.

Ronaldo was also denied by Diego Benaglio in their one-on-one as Real grew more desperate.

Wolfsburg lurked on the break and although Schurrle twice failed to score despite racing clear, it did not prevent a fine win for the Germans.