Real Madrid and Borussia Monchengladbach faced off on Matchday 6 at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium in Madrid to decide who would go through to the knockout stage.
A great start for the home team :
It didn't take long for Madrid to get to work and in the third minute of the game, the Blancos got their first chance of the game when Luka Modric got a great first shot on target but it was grabbed by Monchengladbach keeper Yann Sommer.
Six minutes later Real Madrid efforts bared fruit as Lucas Vasquez would send it a great cross delivery to Karim Benzema who would head the ball into the back of the net for the early 1-0 lead.
Only a minute later Gladbach came close to equalizing the score when Marcus Thuram had his team's first shot on target but Thibault Courtois was there to make the save. For the next 15 minutes, the home side kept pushing and you could see a sense of urgency in the club and they were taking control of the game.
At the 25th minute, Alassane Pléa had his first chance to score going in alone on Courtois but his shot would go just wide of the net. Seven minutes later Madrid doubled their lead to two when Benzema would score his second goal of the match much like the first one only except a great cross from Rodrygo.
At this stage of the match, Madrid was in full control dominating possession 62-38 and were controlling the game. At the 39th minute, Modric had another chance to score when he went in close range on Sommer but would hit the post with his shot.
Modric had another chance and this time the ball would go in but called offside and the first half finished with Real Madrid leading 2-0.
Continued dominance for the Spanish side:
Four minutes into the second half Madrid continued its dominance and Benzema once again went for the header but Sommer this time was up to the task of saving it.
Madrid didn't get another scoring chance until the 63rd minute when Toni Kroos got another quick shot on target but was saved by Sommer. They continued to apply pressure and in the 73rd minute, they got two chances one after the other.
Sergio Ramos who was making his return from injury managed to get another header on goal and off the rebound Benzema would hit the post. Two minutes later the visitors had another chance to cut the deficit to one when Christoph Kramer would get a header of his own on net but Courtois did a good job making another big save.
Three minutes later Vasquez had a chance of his own to increase Madrid's lead but also managed to hit the post. In extra-time, Benzema had a chance to score his third goal of the match with his fifth header of the match but again Sommer made the save.
The whistle blew and Real Madrid had won the game by a final score of 2-0 thus winning the group and advancing to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League.
Borussia Monchengladbach managed to finish second in the group and also qualify due to a 0-0 draw between Inter and Shakhtar Donestk meaning Madrid and Gladbach would finish 1 and 2 while Shakhtar qualifies for the Europa League finishing third meaning Inter is eliminated.
Gladbach coach Marco Rose spoke after the match and gave his thoughts on the match and the fact they still managed to qualify despite losing the game.
" I think when we play a strong team like a Real Madrid we didn't reach the level necessary, we played a lot in the back, they defended well when we had the ball, I think today we didn't believe in ourselves and we didn't put enough pressure on them with the possession and we didn't get the opportunities we needed to win the match or even tie and top of that Real Madrid dominated".
Zinedine Zidane was happy with the result and gave his perspective of the big win.
" We reached our objective and this means we did the work, we knew how to play, and even with the difficulty we faced we played a big match and well deserved victory and to win the group again is well deserved".
He also answered a question in regards to if he was surprised with the stellar performance of his main striker Karim Benzema.
" I am not surprised at all with what he is doing and he is doing so much on the field and it's great to see that".
Both clubs won't have to wait long to see who they face in the round of 16 with the draw being done on Monday and that's when we will find out.