Manchester United and Real Madrid drew 1-1 in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 Match.
The game got off to a slow start with both teams looking sloppy in their own zone. An early Real Madrid shot from Fabio Coentrao was flicked away by keeper David De Gea at the last second. Madrid's Raphael Varane accidently headed the ball back toward his keeper Diego Lopez while the keeper was out of position and cost the team a corner. At the 20 minute mark, Danny Welbeck got a header off a corner and gave Manchester a 1-0 lead. Madrid immediately fired back with tons of pressure and was rewarded when Cristiano Ronaldo headed in a cross to tie the goal at the 30th minute; Ronaldo did not celebrate the goal against his former club. It was the Portuguese superstar's seventh goal in seven Champions League games this season.
Manchester fired back with a few chances including a shot by Danny Welbeck that was stopped by Diego Lopez. On the ensuing corner, Wayne Rooney fired the shot wide of the goal. Later in the half, Mesut Ozil broke down the left field and blasted a shot that De Gea stopped.
During the second half, Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho pulled the plug on an ineffective Karim Benzema and replaced him with Gonzalo Higuain; the Argentine did not create many more chances. Welbeck made a run down the left side a few minutes later but was cut off by a tremendous defensive play from Varane. David De Gea made a number of tremendous saves including a big one through traffic against Sami Khedira late in the second half.
The dynamic duo of Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney was shut down for most of the evening though the former had a couple of chances to give his team the lead. Van Persie blasted a shot that Lopez swatted away. On the ensuing play, Van Persie found himself alone in front of the goal and chipped it weakly past the keeper. Xabi Alonso ran back and kicked the ball away before it crossed the line.
The return leg will be played on March 5 in Manchester. Manchester United can afford to play for a 0-0 draw to advance. Real Madrid must win or draw 2-2 in order to advance to the next round.
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