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As the moon shone brightly in the Manchester sky on Wednesday night, Manchester City hoped it would turn blue, as their famous song goes, but it was The whites, Real Madrid, who progressed to the semifinals of the Champions League after winning the quarterfinal tie following extra time and a penalty shootout.
Real Madrid’s win set up another huge European tie versus Bayern Munich, but for much of the game against City, the Spanish giants of European football appeared second-best.
When it comes to Real Madrid, though, appearances can be deceiving. It felt like City were getting the better chances and controlling proceedings, but though City finished the game having had more possession, more shots, and a higher expected goals total than its opponent, somehow the Spanish side’s victory was still not surprising.
It might be wrong to go as far as saying it felt inevitable, but even as City camped in Real Madrid territory for most of the game—especially during the second half and extra time—there is always a feeling the side from the Spanish capital can absorb such pressure and get some luck when needed.
That said, Real Madrid’s progress was not lucky, even though it eventually came via the so-called lottery of a penalty shootout.
By the end of the game, each team had created the same number of big chances and both had other good chances that didn’t result in a shot and will not be reflected in the data. The most obvious of these for Real Madrid came in the second half when Federico Valverde burst through down the right and just had to find Vinicius Junior who had escaped City’s back line in the center, but the cross only found the hands of Ederson.
Real Madrid’s goal came from a similar quick break with just over ten minutes gone. It was the kind of chance the team’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti, would have hoped for, and the kind his opposite number, Pep Guardiola, would have prepared for, hoping his City team would have enough about them to defend in such circumstances.
On that occasion, City had enough players back, but when a team like Real Madrid executes one of its best-laid plans, with Vinicius and Rodrygo darting unpredictably and Valverde and Jude Bellingham providing support, merely being in position is often not enough.
Rodrygo was somewhat fortunate to see his first shot, well-saved by Ederson, bounce straight back to him, but the move deserved a goal.
City’s best first-half chances came within seconds of each other. An Erling Haaland header hit the bar and fell to Bernardo Silva who couldn’t sort out a finish and kneed it wide.
As Real Madrid’s defenders—which at times was the whole team—patrolled City’s relentless possession as best they could, having some kind of controlling outlet up top was important.
In Valverde, Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Bellingham, they had, at one time or another, four such players.
Some of the touches from Bellingham, including for the Real Madrid goal, and Vinicius appeared impossible under such pressure. They were vital for the Spanish team throughout, and another such touch led to a chance for Rodrygo, similar to the goal in its construction but this time blocked by a City defender.
Real Madrid didn’t have the confident possession of City but had confidence in their counter-attacks. Throughout the second half and extra time, though, the execution of those counter-attacks was lacking.
This allowed City to camp in the Real Madrid half for much of the second period, and the equalizing goal eventually came.
The dynamic changed in added time, even if the general balance of the game didn’t. City replaced Haaland with Julian Álvarez. Rodrygo had exited for Real just before the end of normal time and Vinicius eventually joined him on the bench, replaced by Brahim Díaz and Lucas Vázquez respectively.
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The focal points for each attack were altered, but Bellingham remained constant. As others tired or left the field, he appeared to be playing three positions at once. One minute the defensive midfielder, as the number five on his back would suggest, the next minute the striker. Omnipresent, as Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stéfano once was in big European games.
Bellingham was holding his groin towards the end of the second half and it looked like he may have to leave the field, but he remained, and still had enough in the tank to step up and coolly slot a penalty past Ederson in the shootout.
Rüdiger had missed a great chance to win the game for Real Madrid in extra time, but it was he who stepped up to score the winning penalty.
Álvarez, Phil Foden and, emphatically, goalkeeper Ederson (taking the all-important fifth penalty, no less) had scored theirs for City, but Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovačić saw theirs saved by Andriy Lunin.
Luka Modric was the first penalty taker for Real Madrid, and the only player not to convert, as Ederson saved, but Bellingham, Lucas Vázquez, Nacho, and finally Rüdiger made no mistake.
As half the Real Madrid players and bench rushed to Rüdiger and the other half to Lunin, signifying the heroes of this shootout, Rüdiger emerged from the pile and sprinted alone to the other end of the field where the travelling fans stood. He’d defended so deep for the whole game that he probably had such a sprint left in him.
It was a moment or two before he was eventually joined by his teammates—first Bellingham, as tireless in his celebrations as he had been in his football, and then by the rest of those weary Real Madrid legs who found the extra energy, running on emotion, to celebrate with their fans as Manchester’s blue moon turned white for Los Blancos.
