Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti nonchalantly walked away from the scene of carnage as Manchester City’s treble dream was dashed by the fantastic survivors of the Champions League.
Ancelotti has seen many things in football – including loads of success because the only winner of the tournament 4 times – but even the sport’s most famous raised eyebrows should have been raised to the sky a little bit greater than usual given the kind of this quarter-final victory.
True he led 4-3 in penalty kicks after a 4-4 aggregate draw, 1-1 within the evening, but City will wonder long and hard how they didn’t win a match they dominated almost completely.
City have experienced pain within the Champions League before and will definitely be hurt after losing this crazy, gripping match.
Manager Pep Guardiola’s immediate task is to be sure that the exhaustion and disappointment left in its wake doesn’t translate into the pursuit of a domestic Premier League and FA Cup double, and within the latter a semi-final against Chelsea on Saturday at Wembley.
In the finale, the nice Italian statesman Ancelotti offered Guardiola a comforting shoulder, giving the impression that it was just one other day on the office, which didn’t exactly reflect the hectic, chaotic meeting.
City’s players were left in despair when Antonio Rudiger’s penalty secured them a semi-final against Bayern Munich, while dozens of Real Madrid players and officials ran towards their fans hidden in a far corner of the Etihad Stadium.
Last season, City thrashed Real 4-0 within the second leg of the semi-final, revenge for Ancelotti’s side, who one way or the other rallied from defeat with two goals in stoppage time before winning on the Bernabeu at the identical stage of the previous campaign.
In this exciting last season, City had 16 shots to Real’s 7, here that they had 33 shots to Real’s 8, but this time they lost.
It all got here all the way down to the smallest details, as all the time at this level, and City’s lack of a bonus stood between them and the victory they deserved by way of balance.
They even had an early advantage within the shootout when Ederson made a save from Luka Modric, but only Bernardo Silva will know what he meant by lazily taking a terrible spot-kick straight into the hands of goalkeeper Andrij Lunin.
If you give Real an inch, they take a mile, and Mateo Kovacic’s penalty, again saved by the sensible Lunin, further sealed their fate.
Champions League law states that should you don’t kill Real when you could have the prospect, there’s a very good probability you will pay the value. City broke this golden rule twice.
It could be difficult to criticize the performance of the Premier League champions, who had been outstanding for therefore long, pinning down Real with a sustained second-half attack that was ultimately rewarded with Kevin De Bruyne’s equalizer within the 76th minute, canceling out Rodrygo’s early shot.
On many occasions, Real literally got here to a standstill until the blessed relief got here in the shape of the ultimate whistle and penalties.
It shall be a frustration for City and Guardiola, who thanked their players for his or her efforts but admitted he would need to wait to see where they were after a grueling evening at every level.
City’s players have shown resilience and strength before, however the bitter pill to swallow shall be the way in which they exit the league and the lack of the mammoth trophy they won for the primary time last season against Inter Milan in Istanbul.
This would require enormous mental and physical effort. Guardiola admitted that De Bruyne and Erling Haaland told him they may not proceed. In the ninetieth minute, the striker was replaced by Julian Alvarez, and the Belgian left the sphere in time beyond regulation.
Haaland endured one other difficult night, kept at bay by Real’s battle-hardened defense, except when he hit the crossbar with an early header. The Norwegian doesn’t lack effort, but he doesn’t fully make the most of the opportunities he’s currently accustomed to.
It all stood in stark contrast to the performance of Real and England golden boy Jude Bellingham on one other breakthrough night in his young profession.
It was a testing night for the 20-year-old, who has taken Spain by storm this season, suffering as much as his teammates and City, particularly within the second half.
Under this pressure, Bellingham twice showed exactly why he is taken into account great, though he was never allowed to point out his best side.
Bellingham showed great technique with an aerial pass within the build-up to Rodrygo’s goal, then, to a cacophony of jeers from the City fans, progressed and calmly scored Real’s second penalty after Modric’s miss.
This happened after Silva failed under pressure and shifted the momentum of the penalty shootout in Real’s favour.
Real keep playing, as they often do, and few would bet against them achieving a fifteenth victory in various types of this tournament, reminiscent of the European Cup and Champions League, and giving Ancelotti a fifth triumph.
As for City, it would hurt lots but they should bounce back immediately. There continues to be something to play for.
Credit : www.bbc.co.uk
