Draw in Madrid
Real Madrid missed a win in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City. In the Spanish capital, Kevin De Bruyne equalized the Los Blancos lead set by Vinicius Junior in the first half. The Brazilian contributed at least one scorer point in his eleventh consecutive start in the Champions League – including last year’s final triumph against Liverpool. This season he has only failed to score in his substitution against Shakhtar in the group stage.
In the repeat of last season’s dramatic semi-final, Vinicius Junior scored in the 36th minute for Real, De Bruyne equalized in the 67th minute for the guests, whose scoring Erling Haaland was unlucky this time. Just over a year ago, Blancos lost the first leg in Manchester and then celebrated in Madrid. This year’s final kicks off on June 10 in Istanbul.
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The two star coaches, Ancelotti and Guardiola, greeted each other with a short hug on the sidelines just before kick-off. Rüdiger and Gündogan did it just as warmly in the dressing room – on the field, the two internationals caused the first longer break after almost half an hour. Gündogan had to be treated after the collision, for which Rüdiger was significantly more to blame, but was able to continue playing.
The short break changed something in the dynamic of the game, which Manchester had previously dominated with Guardiola’s possession football. Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was challenged several times, against Kevin De Bruyne (8th), Rodri (14th) and Haaland (15th/16th), who at least made himself felt in these scenes.
Real, in midfield, controlled by Kroos and Luka Modric, withdrew in this phase, lurked – and had Karim Benzema in front. The 35-year-old, who probably just didn’t become world footballer because Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé made the best use of the World Cup stage in Qatar in his absence, was always dangerous as soon as he got the ball played in the top – for the first time in the 18th minute. Minute.
However, the Real goal was scored by Vinícius Júnior, who mainly rewarded Madrid for waiting. The 22-year-old scored from the edge of the box after a quick attack, which was well worth seeing, and the tens of thousands cheered exuberantly in the slowly modernized Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Ancelotti clenched both hands into fists.
Until the half-time break, referee Artur Dias was unintentionally and repeatedly the focus of attention, after several fouls by both teams, Kroos saw the first yellow card for a foul on Gündogan. The Real professional completed his 17th Champions League semi-final, only Cristiano Ronaldo has more appearances.
Benzema almost raised in the first strong scene of the second half, but his shot went deflected over the City goal (50′). Real seemed more dangerous afterwards, but driven by Gündogan, City increased again in the middle of the second half. De Bruyne’s goal with a solid shot was therefore not undeserved. His team-mate Ederson in the City goal made a save against Benzema shortly before the end of the game (78′).
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