Martín Demichelis, the RB Leipzig coach, praised Yan Diomandé’s qualities in AS ahead of the reunion with Real Madrid. The 19-year-old Ivorian winger is in form, but could yet leave the left flank to Vinicius Junior.
Santiago Bernabéu hosts RB Leipzig this Wednesday, 21 October 2026, for Champions League matchday 3. For Yan Diomandé, the game has a special flavour: he faces for the first time the club he left this summer for a record transfer of €140 million including bonuses, according to AS.
The player is in excellent form: he scored in his last two La Liga outings, against Villarreal and then Sevilla. His debut in the Merengue shirt caught the eye of Martín Demichelis, RB Leipzig’s head coach, who offered a strong tribute to the Ivorian prodigy in the columns of the Spanish daily AS.
Demichelis calls him a phenomenon
The RB Leipzig coach was unstinting in his praise of his former player. In the pages of AS, Demichelis describes a rare profile: “He is one of those players capable of making the difference on the left as well as on the right, thanks to his formidable two-footed control of the ball.”
He also discussed the Ivorian’s future at Real Madrid: “At a big club like Madrid, he will have great coaches, but it will depend on his desire to push himself,” he said, according to AS.
An already telling record
The numbers confirm that impression. In the Real Madrid shirt, Yan Diomandé already has 5 goal involvements: 2 goals and 3 assists, according to AS. Only Kylian Mbappé (13) has a clearly better tally in the Madrid squad.
For their part, RB Leipzig arrive in Madrid with just one win from their last four Champions League meetings with the Madrilenians, according to AS.
Uncertainty over his playing time
His starting place remains uncertain, however. At a press conference, José Mourinho, Real Madrid’s head coach, announced that Vinicius Junior, suspended in La Liga, will start on the left wing. “Vinicius will play on the left wing. Yan doesn’t know whether he will play or not,” he said, according to the club’s website.
Those comments leave doubt over the Ivorian’s exact role against his former club. Real Madrid, for their part, are aiming for a perfect Champions League record to establish themselves at the top before the Clásico against FC Barcelona, scheduled for the following weekend.
Kick-off is set for 21:00 at the Santiago Bernabéu.