Real Madrids Bellingham settles the thriller to leave Manchester City on rope | Champions League

Pep Guardiola had pointed out that it was “impossible” to check Real Madrid’s front four. You can only endure for them for them, Manchester City Manager suggested. They tend to find a way. This Madrid victory was built on their cut and pushing the front, the smoothness of their bursts, the pure speed of them.

For a good while it felt as if Erling Haaland would be the story; Another striker who is not in the process of being tied. City No. 9 had drawn topics in all four of his former Champions League tapes against Madrid. He had a point to prove, and he proved it twice to put his team ahead, the other for 2-1, who came from the penalty, after Phil’s foot, as a replacement, had been buried by Dani Ceballos.

It just touched Madrid for greater efforts. How were they behind? They had created so much, the city’s goalkeeper, Ederson, and distinguished himself in his efforts to keep them in check. Kylian Mbappé, the central point of the Madrid front line, had scored the first equalization, albeit with a finish that owed more luck than judgment.

Now Madrid pushed again. They refused to accept that they would not take a lead back to Bernabéu for the second stage of this playoffs. The leading road was Vinícius Júnior, who was simply scary from the left. Rodrygo wasn’t bad on the other flank either. Ancelotti’s team got their second equalization towards the end as they worked the ball to Vinícius on the inside on the right, and his shot was pushed out by Ederson, but only as far as another replacement, Brahim Díaz, who shot home. Díaz, the former city player, did not celebrate. The move had begun with a loose care of Ederson.

The winner came at stopping time and if Madrid left it late could get people say they didn’t deserve it. The city has capitulated too many times this season and more fingers will be pointed to them. But it was more about Madrid’s talent, their discrepancies. City couldn’t live with it.

Guardiola had made a enforced change in the interval, Rico Lewis, who came to the wounded Manuel Akanji at right -back, and Vinícius gave him a torrid time. Vinícius finally punished him. It was a bad pass of Mateo Kovacic, who had also gone in as a replacement, but Lewis was on his heels slowly to respond.

Vinícius got the ball away from him and flipped on the after -burners. When he was tiling over Ederson, it was Jude Bellingham, the last member of the Fab Quartet, where he played at No. 10 when Madrid had possession that drove in to use the unwiched net. Who else, as Bellingham may have said it.

The tie needed no hype, but it got it all the same. “ONE Clasico“Carlo Ancelotti had called it, and it didn’t disappoint. The story between the clubs pulsed, the epic showdowns, especially in the previous three seasons; A quarter-final, two semi-final meetings that defined the competition, the winners went all the way to lift the trophy; By once, Madrid twice.

There was also the newer Ballon d’Or Shemozzle, where Madrid had the Boikotted Ceremony after the city’s Rodri won rather than Vinícius. The city’s fans had a Jibe ready in the form of a pre-match tifo. “Stop crying your heart out,” the words ran over a picture of Rodri and kissed the trophy. There were Ballon d’Or -based tensions and boos from the home crowd to Vinícius. By reflection, it might not have been so wise.

Madrid was bright at first. Vinícius sashayed about a challenge to release Mbappé who saw Ederson save his shot, and moments later refused the city’s goalkeeper Vinícius in close quarters. On Rebound, Ferland Mendy’s efforts were blocked in front of the line by Nathan Aké.

The city was ahead when Jack Grealish got off to a rare start, lobbed a lovely ball into the area of ​​Joso Gvardiol, who threw himself to Haaland to quit. Was Haaland Offside? The video assistant’s judge took an age to check before clearing him. Unfortunately, Grealish did not last much longer, injuries forced him away.

Vinícius rattled the cross bar after a step over and a slide inside, while there was a flurry from the visitors before the interval. Federico Valverde, who played at right -back when Ancelotti claimed with a defensive injury crisis, knocked a shot high. Mbappé went twice close; The second attempt controlled wasted over. For the city, the foot Thibaut Courtois worked from a distance, and Akanji runs a header to the top of the crossbar from a corner.

If Vinícius was in the mood, his acceleration became blistering, so was Haaland. Perhaps he felt the vulnerability of Madrid’s emergency in central defensive pairing of Aurélien Tchouaméni and Raúl Aencio. Haaland’s movement was sharp, his physical in the lead. He reached almost 2-0 at the start of the second half, took a Kevin de Bruyne pass and saw his shot bake and hit the cross bar.

Back came Madrid. Bellingham went close with a headline. Mbappé drew a fine reflex rescue out of Ederson. The equalizer came, and it did when Ceballos tiled a half-cut free kick back to the course of Mbappé, whose side-on volley was more tibia than the trunk. It spun in apologetic.

It all was Madrid. Valverde was souring inches past the distant post. Bellingham was denied one-on-one by Ederson. And yet, the tie swung as the foot changed the ball from one foot to the other, and Ceballos, already committed, stopped him illegally. After Haaland converted from the site, it swung hard in the other direction.