The midfielders’ hopes were dashed when Pep Guardiola substituted his best penalty takers, the Norwegian and Kevin De Bruyne, before they could take the spot-kick.
Manchester City played better than Real Madrid once again, but this time they were unable to finish their chances. Unfortunately, their run in the Champions League ended in a heartbreaking defeat on penalties in the quarter-finals. Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic missed their shots in the shootout, with Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin making crucial saves. The match ended 1-1 after regular time and extra time.
City tried their best to defeat Madrid, but missed their opportunities. Unfortunately, Erling Haaland couldn’t help them this time as he was substituted by Pep Guardiola after another underwhelming performance in a crucial match. Antonio Rudiger then sealed the fate of City’s hopes for a double-treble by scoring the 10th penalty.
In a reversal of fortunes from the first half, City conceded an early goal to a shot from Rodryro, who has become a persistent threat to Guardiola’s team, scoring his fourth goal against them in this competition. However, City fought back strongly, with Haaland’s header hitting the crossbar and Bernardo Silva missing the follow-up opportunity.
Madrid pushed hard and their efforts paid off when Kevin De Bruyne scored a goal after Rudiger made a mistake in clearing the ball. However, De Bruyne missed a great opportunity to secure the win before the end of regular time.
The extra 30 minutes were dominated by City, aside from a missed chance by Rudiger. The match went to penalties to decide the winner between these top European teams. Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden, and even the goalkeeper Ederson scored from the spot for City. Unfortunately, Bernardo and Kovacic missed their penalties at a crucial moment, leading to City’s victory.
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Kyle Walker (5/10): Made a mistake but redeemed with a key stop.
Ederson (7/10): Impressive, saved a penalty and scored.
Ruben Dias (6/10): Struggled initially but improved defensively.
Josko Gvardiol (7/10): Showed resilience with crucial blocks.
Manuel Akanji (7/10): Stepped up in a versatile defender role effectively.
MIDFIELD:
Bernardo Silva (5/10): Moved the ball effectively, limited Vinicius’ impact, but poorly taken penalty easily saved.
Rodri (5/10):Played smartly, like when he prevented a clear shot on goal by pulling back Brahim.
Kevin De Bruyne (6/10):Determined and focused, scored the equalizing goal, missed a chance to win the game.
Bernardo Silva (5/10):Contributed by dragging Madrid side to side and containing Vinicius with tireless running. However, his penalty was poor, straight down the middle and easily saved by Lunin.
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ATTACK:
Erling Haaland (5/10):An improvement from his poor performance in Madrid, he hit the crossbar with a header this time. However, it’s still another big game where he couldn’t manage to score.
Jack Grealish (6/10):He had an exciting battle with Carvajal and created some of City’s top scoring opportunities. Although he unexpectedly replaced Doku, Pep certainly made the right call.
Phil Foden (6/10):He didn’t score any firecracker goals this time and was quiet by his usual standards. However, he played a part in the second-half dominance. He missed a big chance in extra time but scored his penalty.
SUBS & MANAGER:
Julian Alvarez (5/10): Subbed in, lacked impact but executed penalty well.
Jeremy Doku (7/10): Provided speed and skill, key in creating equalizer, troubled opponents in extra time.
Pep Guardiola (6/10):He made good decisions at halftime and bringing on Doku helped his team. However, substituting Haaland, especially when a penalty shootout was likely, was seen as a mistake.
John Stones: Came into the game in the 112th minute.Mateo
Kovacic: took the place of De Bruyne in the 112th minute and unfortunately struggled during the penalty shootout.