Carlo Ancelotti plays down Brahim Diaz injury fears

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has played down suggestions that Brahim Diaz suffered a potentially long-term injury during Tuesday's Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.

The 24-year-old scored the only goal of the last-16 first leg in Germany, but he was forced off in the latter stages of the contest through injury.

Speaking after the match, Brahim told reporters: "I feel good, I think my injury is not serious."

Ancelotti also had his say on the situation, with the Italian confident that the Spaniard only suffered a knock and not a muscular problem, which would mean a spell on the sidelines.

"Brahim took a knock on his ankle and the calf, they'll assess him tomorrow. I don't think it's a muscular issue," the Italian told reporters in his post-match press conference.

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"I have a squad with a fantastic attitude, immense commitment and quality. I was very impressed with how we defended against a team that will always make life hard for you at home. We could have scored more but we could have conceded too.

"It's a slight advantage and we'll have to make the most of being at home in the second leg, but we'll have to show the same attitude we did today.

"Leipzig are a good attacking side and they're well-organised with their wingers coming inside, while they've got two very good and different types of striker. Keeping a clean sheet is great and it shows we did a good job.

"We struggled with the positioning of their wingers in the first half but we sorted it out later on. Even so, having to dig in was to be expected here.

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"The team is in good shape. Today was a pretty tough test in that sense because Leipzig played with such intensity. We almost always played in a low, compact block because we wanted to ensure they couldn't make the most of the transitions. The team is fine because we have top-quality players in that sense."

Ancelotti also reserved special praise for the match-winner Brahim, who was brought into the side due to Jude Bellingham's absence with an ankle injury.

"Since his time in Milan, he looks more powerful, stronger and with greater conviction and personality. He didn't play so much at the beginning but whenever he's been involved, he's always contributed. Now he's full of confidence in his game," he added.

"He scored a spectacular goal, it was incredible. Of course, the goal was the highlight but he worked as hard as anyone. It was a tough, difficult game but the team was focused and they dug in until the end."

Brahim has now contributed eight goals and three assists in 28 appearances for Real Madrid during the 2023-24 campaign, with the attacker returning to Bernabeu last summer after a three-year loan spell at AC Milan.