He Real Madrid has achieved qualification for the quarterfinals of the Champions League after winning (1-2) against Manchester City in the second leg of the round of 16, played this Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium in Mancunía. Vinicius He was the main protagonist with a double, forcing the penalty for the first goal in a great play and sealing the victory in added time.
The white team will play in the quarterfinals one more year, most likely against Bayern Munichwho should not have any problems against Atalanta after the 1-6 in the first leg in Bergamo. It will be time to play the first leg again at the Santiago Bernabéu; a new classic in the making.
The penalty that didn’t go in at the Bernabéu was at the Etihad Stadium. Vinicius made up for his mistake and allowed Madrid to get back on track in a tie that was already expulsion of Bernardo Silva He got a little more face.
The play occurred in the minute 17. The Brazilian went down his wing and created a double chance with a first shot at the post and a second shot after the rebound, which deflected Bernardo Silva with the elbow on the line.
The French Clement Turpin He did not see it at the beginning, but after reviewing the play on the VAR he did order a penalty and expulsion of the City captain, the first of his career. Five minutes later, goal Vinicius.
Until that moment Madrid had suffered and they had the first great opportunity in the boots of Fede Valverde in a play similar to that of the first leg. The Uruguayan, captain in the absence of Carvajal, Brahim Diaz y Vinicius They were the protagonists of the first part.
Bellingham he stayed in street clothes and Mbappé I watched the game from the bench. Trent Alexander Arnold y Arda Guler They were the only changes in the starting eleven compared to the match against Elche.
The set of Pep Guardiolaforced to come back from 3-0 down, went out looking for the goal from the start and had the best chances in response to Valverde’s first one, but found inspiration from Thibaut Courtois. Neither Reijnders nor Cherki were lucky, nor was the Spaniard Rodri Hernandezwho will most likely be on Luis de la Fuente’s list for the national team on Friday.
Only a few minutes before the break, in a defensive mistake by Madrid defending a corner, was he able to find the goal through the boots of Erling Haalanda bit in the semi-final too (minute 41). Like City at the beginning, even this goal was able to increase the white team’s advantage.
Courtois’ injury, the bad news of the night
Everything seemed fine for Arbeloa’s team, but after the restart they had to leave Andry Lunin in replacement of Courtoiswhich had suffered an overload. He also made changes Guardiolaforced by circumstances, giving entry to Nathan Ake y Marc Guéhi.
Tactical modifications that did not alter Madrid’s script, which despite the numerical superiority was comfortable looking for a goal on the counterattack, taking advantage of the spaces left by City. Thus he warned Vinicius as soon as the match resumed, while Haaland He had it after a long possession.
The warning from the Norwegian striker made the white team’s midfielders wake up to have a little more control. That the locals were going to attempt the miracle was taken for granted, but there was no need to roll out the red carpet, because Haaland I needed little to pull the trigger and Tissue He didn’t need ten teammates behind him to confront and haggle with anyone who came his way.
That’s why the replacement of Haaland with so much time ahead, but the truth was that except for the goal he did little else. With Semenyo y Marmoush Guardiola was looking for more speed and pressure. With so much speed, Tissue He over-braked and scored offside.
The return of Mbappé
Madrid preferred to mature them more, so much so that sometimes they lost chances with too many passes in front. In those, after a very good not taken advantage of by Viniciuscame out Mbappé by Brahim and in the next one he had it Tchouamenitesting Donnaruma.
And in the corner kick generated, Mbappé He tried a volley, finishing wide. In just two minutes Madrid did more in attack than in the entire second half, although never showing signs of losing control of the match and playing with the advantage of the clock running out.
When it wasn’t the clock, it was The moon and when it wasn’t The moonit was offside, but nothing was in favor of those of Guardiola.
They also canceled one of Valverde for the same reason and another Vinicius in added time. The Brazilian, however, pulled out the thorn in the last play (minute 93), certifying the classification of the Madrid for the quarterfinals of the Champions League. One more and another classic awaits.
