Reuters
Title holders, Manchester City were eliminated by Real Madrid after a penalty shootout lost this Wednesday evening (1-1, 3-4 tab), in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League, on the lawn of the Etihad Stadium.
TOPS
The Ukrainian wall named Lunin
Accused of being at fault on Bernardo Silva’s free kick in the first leg for a bad placement, the Ukrainian goalkeeper, Andriy Lunin, made up for it very well and that’s the least we can say. In 120 minutes played, he posted a total of 9 saves during the match. Dominated and mistreated, Real Madrid has always been able to count on its last rampart. On the ground and in the air, it fulfilled its role perfectly. Double save, sometimes triple save or simple save in two stages, he never seemed perturbed by the importance of the match and even less by the scenario during which the Citizens pressed very high with great intensity. The icing on the cake of this performance remains this penalty shootout during which the Ukrainian put his team back on track by stopping the attempts of Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovačić.
Carlo Ancelotti’s perfect recipe
After a thunderous draw at Santiago Bernabeu (3-3), Real Madrid arrived at the Etihad Stadium with a very complicated task. Indeed, it had been more than a year since Manchester City had lost at home. It was November 12, 2022 against Brentford. Note that Man City’s last defeat in the Champions League dates back to September 19, 2018 against OL. Real Madrid needed an exploit to overthrow the Citizens. The Merengue have only managed to qualify for the knockout phase of the Champions League twice out of 10 double confrontations after failing to win the first leg at home: against Manchester United in 2000 then in 2013. And this Tuesday evening, This was achieved thanks to masterful tactical preparation from Carlo Ancelotti who hit the ground running after Rodrygo’s opener (12th). If Kevin De Bruyne equalized, the Madrid club never really panicked, taking no risks and aiming for extra time and penalties to overthrow Manchester City.
Read alsoChampions League: Real Madrid eliminates defending champion Manchester City on penalties
FLOPS
Sterile domination of Citizens
A collective performance that is ultimately quite complicated to analyze. With 33 shots and 67% possession, Manchester City did everything to overcome Real Madrid but in vain. Offensively, the Citizens created numerous opportunities but never concluded them. They hit the crossbar on the head of Erling Haaland, they missed big opportunities like this shot from Kevin De Bruyne, left alone at the penalty point (81st). With more than 2.73 expected goals, Pep Guardiola’s troops also have nearly 18 corners and 10 free kicks. Long shots, overflows on the sides, shots in the area, set pieces… They tried everything, they tried everything but they almost missed everything in more than 120 minutes. At home when you are the title holder, it is difficult to forgive.
The ghost of Erling Haaland has resurfaced
Invisible in the first leg with only 20 balls touched (including seven ball losses) for a single shot attempted in 90 minutes, Erling Haaland had to redeem himself this Wednesday evening and that was not the case. The one who has scored 30 goals this season, including six in C1, has not managed to dominate despite a few attacks, particularly in the aerial game. His unbalanced head crashed onto the bar (19th) and he tried to get away a little to throw his teammates into space. This Tuesday again, the Norwegian only touched 21 balls and attempted to deliver only seven passes. He lost 8 balls and barely completed a single dribble. A little less discreet than going, Haaland was nevertheless not at all effective or realistic, much to the chagrin of the Sky Blues.
