For Dominik Szoboszlai's 22nd birthday, there was a large cake, one "with a lot of sugar in it", as Marco Rose revealed.

The RB Leipzig coach did not want to reveal where he knew that from.

Had he tasted it beforehand?

Hours later, Rose suspected that his players had also nibbled on the cake.

There was some evidence for this assumption.

As if raised, they worked the field against Real Madrid, ran up and down, straddled and fought and showed what is generally understood as thrilling football for over 90 minutes.

It was all so noticeable that Rose suspected an immense energy boost from excessive sugar consumption.

Ultimately, he didn't care where the power came from.

Leipzig's coach was delighted with the passionate speech and a 3-2 win that puts RB in a comfortable position ahead of the last group match day of the Champions League.

In a week, a draw against Shakhtar Donetsk would be enough to reach the round of 16.

"We have now worked out a real final in Warsaw," said Rose.

The game takes place in the Polish capital due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

However, Rose also warned: "We're not through yet, that's a fact." If Donetsk wins, the Ukrainians would be through.

Leipzig lost the first encounter with Shakhtar 1:4.

It was to be the last game for then-coach Domenico Tedesco.

He was replaced by Rose, who was born in Leipzig, and since then RB has only lost two of eleven competitive games.

The series in the Bundesliga against Bayer Leverkusen is to be extended on Saturday before progressing to the Champions League on Wednesday.

After two defeats at the start, this goal hardly seemed achievable, but three games won in a row give Leipzig hope.

Room: "What should we be afraid of?"

A win against Madrid was not necessarily to be expected despite the improving form curve, as the defending champions, who were still unbeaten up to that point, were "one of the best, if not the best team in the world", as defender David Raum said.

Real's class only came out in phases that evening.

Feeling confident of qualifying for the next round, Madrid lacked the belief that winning every game in this competition was worth it.

Apart from Toni Kroos, Madrid spared its brightest stars.

Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde and Luka Modric had not even started the trip to Leipzig.

David Alaba and Dani Carvajal stayed on the bench for more than an hour.

There was little to gain for Real and a lot to lose for Leipzig.

Both teams acted accordingly.

“We had decided to be brave.

What should we be afraid of?

We can kick as well,” said Raum.

To prove it, Leipzig embarrassed Real several times.

The intention of the Spaniards, which was apparently based on wanting to find out how little effort one could get through the trip as unscathed as possible, was immediately punished by RB.

Josko Gvardiol with a dust collector and Christopher Nkunku with a powerful shot under the crossbar gave Leipzig a 2-0 lead early on.

Gvardiol and Nkunku were not only the scorers, but also the outstanding protagonists of this eventful evening.

As a central defender, the Croatian won almost every duel and prevented a quite likely goal from being conceded several times.

In particular, Real's dribbling artist Vinicius Junior got stuck on Gvardiol again and again.

The Brazil international managed to escape only once, his header allowing Madrid to close before the break.

Nkunku in focus

Nkunku showed throughout the game why he has been Leipzig's most important and best player for a long time.

He had his feet in the game with all promising attacks, it was noticeable that it was a particularly bright stage that had to be played on.

Nkunku has been courted by various top clubs for a long time, and Real should also deal with him.

Chelsea would like to bring him to London in the winter, they say.

The English were also interested in Gvardiol in the summer.

Another Leipzig native who earned top marks was Mohamed Simakan.

The Frenchman, who prefers to be a central defender but has been playing right-back for weeks due to a lack of alternatives, prepared the 3-1 through Timo Werner with an irresistible run at speed.

The fact that Real came back in injury time with a penalty from Rodrygo no longer spoiled the overall picture.