Player ratings: Vinicius secures Real Madrid's Champions League progression with crucial goal against RB Leipzig

On Wednesday evening, Real Madrid secured their place in the Champions League quarter-final with a somewhat underwhelming 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig.

Describing the first half in Madrid as tentative would be quite the understatement, as the visiting team slightly edged the first 45 minutes that saw only one shot on target.

Nevertheless, a single-goal lead from the first game was all that Real required to proceed, as long as they didn't lose. They didn't, thanks to a goal in the second half from Vinicius Junior. While Willi Orban managed to strike one back for the visitors, the 14-time European champions held their ground to move into the last eight.

Given their one-goal lead from the first leg, Real Madrid weren't in a hurry at the Santiago Bernabeu. La Liga's leaders started the match at walking pace, careful not to send too many players into their opponents' defensive third.

Leipzig, on the other hand, played more assertively from the first whistle. Lois Openda missed an early chance as the Bundesliga team sought to capitalise on their pace. The Belgian nearly opened the scoring just a few minutes later, but shot another promising opportunity wide of Andriy Lunin's left post.

Throughout an uneventful first half, Real had received several alerts. Just before half-time, it was Xavi Simons who almost scored for Leipzig, with his curling shot blocked by Lunin. Openda's powerful shot narrowly missed the post a minute later, and neither team managed to score before the break.

Openda caused another fright for Real shortly after play resumed, dribbling around Lunin but failing to shoot as the Ukrainian goalkeeper quickly retrieved the ball.

Roughly 25 minutes before the final whistle, Leipzig's inefficiency was punished when Jude Bellingham and Vinicius combined to put the hosts ahead. Bellingham slipped a superlative through ball to Vinicius, who skilfully shot past Peter Gulacsi from 12 yards.

The German side demonstrated impressive resolve when they equalised just four minutes after Vini's goal, courtesy of an unlikely Orban. The Hungarian centre-back expertly redirected David Raum's inviting cross from the left, guiding it past Lunin.

The equalizer spurred the visitors on in the remaining 20 minutes, with Openda squandering another set piece and Benjamin Sesko hitting a shot directly at Lunin. Orban was next to have a go, but his header went a foot wide.

Leipzig kept up the pressure in the hope of forcing extra time. Dani Olmo's final minute effort scraped the top of the crossbar, but Madrid withheld the onslaught to ensure their place in the Champions League quarter-finals once again.

The key performers for Real Madrid included Andriy Lunin, who despite an early lapse performed well in goal. Antonio Rudiger and Nacho were solid in defence, while Toni Kroos stood out in midfield with excellent distribution, misplacing just five of his 73 passes. Up front, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior both contributed significantly with key assists and goals respectively.