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Kevin De Bruyne’s goal from distance ensured Manchester City did not go into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final trailing after they came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
The Belgian shot Thibaut Courtois from distance to cancel out a great goal from Vinicius Jr that opened the Real Madrid account in the tie.
It was an exciting encounter between arguably the two best teams in Europe, but neither could secure the crucial goal to take the lead in the second leg.
It means that things are well prepared for the second leg in Manchester next Wednesday.
This is how the players qualified in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal:
real Madrid
Thibaut Courtois, 7
He made a strong blind save to deny De Bruyne and Rodri in the first half and denied the Belgian again in the second before the flag was raised. He was not to blame for Manchester City’s goal.
Dani Carvajal, 6
He struggled to contain Jack Grealish on the left in the first half and made some reckless fouls.
Antonio Rudiger, 6
One of the most anticipated battles of the night was his meeting with Haaland and he managed to prevent the Norwegian from adding to his tally of 51 goals in the season.
David Praises, 7
He worked hard throughout the game and put in a good sliding challenge to stop Haaland in the second half.
Eduardo Camavinga, 7
He is not a natural left-back and without Vinicius stepping back, he had a busy match and provided the assist for Vinicius Jr.
Federico Valverde, 6
He had to make do despite City commanding most of possession, but he played a part on the right of a three-man midfield.
Toni Kroos, 5
For someone so dominant in midfield, he found himself a bit behind the pace of the match and launched several challenges out of time.
Luka Modric, 7
He found his chances limited at times, but played a crucial role in his team’s first goal.
Rodrigo, 6
He did not have the same fortune in the band as Vinicius Jr and Manuel Akanji kept him silent.
Karim Benzema, 7
He was the focal point of Madrid’s attacking threat, causing trouble for Manchester City’s defense at every turn with his smart move.
Vinicius Jr, 8
He scored an impressive goal to put his team in the lead, threatening throughout the game with his breakneck pace causing problems for the visitors.
Substitutes:
Marco Asensio – 6
Aurelien Tchouameni – 7
Nacho – 6
manchester city
Ederson, 7
He was not to blame for the goal and saved Benzema in the second half and dived in the 89th minutehe minute to avoid a long shot from Tchouameni that returned the lead to Real.
Kyle Walker, 6
The English right-back had a hard time defending Vinicius Jr and worked hard throughout the match
Ruben Dias, 7
Dias made an impeccably timed sliding save in the first half to prevent a ball from outside the box reaching Benzema.
Manuel Akanji, 7
He was a consistent performer at left-back and didn’t look out of place against a very experienced Real Madrid line-up.
John Stones, 6
He managed to limit Benzema’s attacking threat and brought his impressive form from the Premier League to the European arena.
Rodrigo, 6
Although he gifted the ball to Vinicius Jr and nearly let the ball pass to Benzema, and had an awkward tug of the shirt in the second half, Rodri did play a key role in De Bruyne’s goal.
Bernardo Silva, 6
Silva dove into the box to set up De Bruyne for City’s first real chance, but then had his chances to affect play limited by the home side.
Kevin DeBruyne, 9
He dictated City’s game from midfield and scored the equalizer with a well-hit low shot that went past Courtois
Ilkay Gundogan, 8
The midfielder deftly placed the ball at De Bruyne’s feet for his goal and captained City throughout the game.
Jack Grealish, 7
He was active throughout the game causing numerous problems for Real Madrid and participated in the goal.
Erling Haland, 6
An unusually calm performance from Haaland. He had a tame effort on Courtois in the first half and was largely ineffective, but the Real Madrid defense held him off well.