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1 week ago
8 ANTONIO RUDIGER struck the winning penalty to leave Manchester City’s bid for another treble in tatters.
The Spanish giants spent much of the night camped in their own half in another gripping clash with their own rivals.
ReutersReal Madrid knocked Man City out of the Champions League on penalties[/caption]
ReutersIt was heartbreak for City as their dreams of a second successive Treble ended[/caption]
But they survived the onslaught to take the tie to spot-kicks then delivered the sucker punch as Andriy Lunin saved from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic.
So the holders are out and now the manager faces a huge task to lift his team for the FA Cup and Premier League challenges.
Because make no mistake this was a heart-breaking and devastating defeat for City – who had 32 efforts on goal and had only Kevin De Bruyne’s equaliser to show for it.
But this is what Madrid do in Europe – they go through even when they don’t deserve to.
And for the second time in three seasons they have – with more than an element of good luck – put Guardiola’s men out.
Pep Guardiola had talked before the game on whether he was going to take a gamble on the fitness of skipper Kyle Walker.
The veteran has spent three-and-a-half weeks on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury on England.
But he was missed in the first leg as his old sparring partner Vinicius Jr enjoyed too much space so the City boss decided to take the risk.
It was September 2018 last time City lost a Champions League game at their fortress – a record for English clubs.
And you have to go back to November 2022 – before a ball had been kicked at the Qatar World Cup – for last time anybody won here.
So City would have hoped their thrilling draw in the Bernabeu eight days ago gave them the base to reach the semi-finals for a fourth straight time.
Real Madrid though are not 14 time winners for nothing – they have made a habit of squeezing through in ties when they look doomed.
And sure enough after a cagey start to the game, the visitors struck first.
Jude Bellingham’s brilliant control and spin from Dani Carvajal’s pass opened things up and his pass sent Vinicius Jr away down the right.
His low cross reached fellow Brazilian Rodrygo whose first effort was miraculously saved by another countryman Ederson.
The rebound fell kindly for him though and he made no mistake in slamming it home at the second time of asking.
It was the wide man who broke City hearts with two stoppage time goals in the Bernabeu two years ago – and here he was at it again.
Just like in Spain eight days ago, City found themselves behind around the quarter hour mark – and with some serious work to do.
They pushed hard for an equaliser as Bernardo Silva’s cross was headed over by Haaland.
The Norwegian then looped a header onto the bar from a Kevin De Bruyne cross and Silva somehow bundled the rebound wide from close range.
Madrid still looked a huge threat on the break though and Walker showed why his manager picked him by getting back to block an effort from Carvajal.
Most of the chances were coming at the other end – even though Madrid were dealing with City’s threat well.
Andriy Lunin made a spectacular stop to deny De Bruyne while Jack Grealish saw his low effort deflected past the post.
The Three Lions ace was catching the eye for City and it needed a perfectly timed last ditch tackle from Antonio Rudiger to direct his effort into the side netting.
Unlike Phil Foden on the other wing, Grealish was seeing plenty of the ball and he drew a foul from Carvajal which earned the veteran Spaniard a second yellow card.
The second half began in a similar way.
Lunin was also called into action soon after the re-start to keep out long range efforts from Grealish and Phil Foden.
Then Nacho pushed the ball past his own keeper then had to desperately clear off his own line under pressure from Haaland.
It was beginning to look like it was not going to be City’s night.
A pre match display in the stands depicted Foden at the wheel of a bus bound for Wembley. It felt like Madrid had brought one of their own to the Etihad – and parked it.
But Guardiola made a change by throwing on Jeremy Doku in place of Grealish – and it paid dividends as he ran at Carvajal – who was on a tightrope with a yellow card.
His low cross was blocked by Rudiger but only into the path of De Bruyne who fired into the roof of the net from a narrow angle.
While City had not been at their best, the equaliser was the least they deserved.
Now Madrid were hanging on and KDB could have won it when he somehow slammed a cross from Akanji over the bar. By his standards, it was a sitter.
