Real Madrid and Manchester City played out an all-time classic Champions League encounter at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday night, which ended in a 3-3 draw ahead of the second leg to be played next week. The Citizens took an early lead on two minutes from a Bernardo Silva free-kick which caught out Andriy Lunin, but Ruben Dias then deflected an Eduardo Camavinga shot into his own goal, with Rodrygo Goes giving the home tema the lead minuets later. In the second period, Phil Foden and Josep Gvardiol produced magnificent goals from outside the box, with Fede Valverde drawing the tie back level with an equaliser on the volley.
Three answers
1. Would any of the four players in danger of suspension be shown a yellow card?
It took only 40 seconds for us to know the answer to this one as Aurelién Tchouameni hacked down Jack Grealish to be shown a yellow card by French referee Francois Letexier, earning himself a suspension as a result and also giving Manchester City a free-kick which would allow them to take the lead. Neither Jude Bellingham nor Vinícius Júnior were playing it safe despite their yellow cards, with both getting stuck in to Letexier to criticise his decisions and to face up to their opponents. Eduardo Camavinga also committed two fouls and was lucky not to have more awarded against him with a late tackle on Phil Foden taking the England international out. There’s certainly no way that anybody watching could accuse any of them of having one eye on the second leg.
2. How would Real Madrid approach this game?
Kiyan Sobhani wrote pre-match about the two options for this match, whether to go all-out like Liverpool or defend deep like Arsenal. In reality, it always seemed unlikely that Carlo Ancelotti would ask his team to sit deep and grind out a result, but even if he wanted to, the early goal from Bernardo Silva meant that it wasn’t an option available for Real Madrid, who were forced to hit back. This was a Real Madrid side who looked to counter with pace through Rodrygo, who was allowed more freedom to drift to the left and cut in as he prefers to do, while the press was more targeted once Manchester City crossed the halfway line. Chaos reigned at the Bernabéu, but it could be intriguing to see whether or not Ancelotti changes that approach for the return leg in Manchester.
3. What would the atmosphere be like at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu?
This was the first real big Champions League fixture at a full capacity Estadio Santiago Bernabéu since 2019. There have been big, historic, ties since then, against Manchester City no less, but they have been with part of the stands closed. The club’s supporters made a concerted effort to encourage those fortunate enough to be in attendance to dress in white, and there was a slight difference in the stands, though not everybody obliged with the request. The two goals to react to the City opener were exactly what fans would have been hoping to see and saw the roof’s shackles tested, putting to the test the idea that it makes for a louder experience in the stadium.
Three questions
1. How does this set up the second leg?
Last year, a 1-1 draw in Madrid in the semi-final first leg meant it was all to play for in the return fixture in Manchester, and we all know how that ended. This scoreline is similar in that the scores are level, but Real Madrid may feel that they had some missed opportunities to take the lead into the second leg. Some pundits suggested that City should walk all over Real Madrid, and this was a clear demonstration to the exact opposite as Real Madrid were able to compete on quality alone. Even so, the defensive insecurities on show and the suspension to Aurelién Tchouameni mean that the thought of going to the Etihad Stadium is a daunting prospect.
2. How will the defence line up without Tchouameni?
Carlo Ancelotti made it clear with his selection that he prefers the Frenchman to captain Nacho Fernández for a big European game, only the suspension for Tchouameni now means that he won’t be available for the return fixture in a week’s time. Éder Militão still won’t be match fit which means that the decision Ancelotti avoided taking on Tuesday night, which would have been to start Nacho, now looks an almost certainty for the return fixture in Manchester. Antonio Rüdiger excelled with another strong performance, but if there’s anything that will be giving Madridistas sleepless nights for the next 8 days, it could be who will be lining up alongside him in England next week.
3. Why did Real Madrid look so tired?
In the second half of this game, you never would have guessed that Real Madrid were the team to come into the tie following a nine-day break. It’s true that by allowing Manchester City to retain possession, they were chasing a lot of the ball, but even so, to be quite so far off the intensity of Manchester City from the hour-mark onwards was surprising. That was when the game turned on its head and Manchester City scored twice to get firmly back into the tie. Ancelotti reacted to make changes but not until 71 minutes and by that time it was too late as City were already back in the lead. It’s a question that Ancelotti and his staff will likely be pondering over the coming days.
