Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior and Manchester City's Erling Haaland were relaxed and laughing as they embraced after the final whistle at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
They both seemed satisfied following an even first leg that ended in a 1-1 draw on Tuesday and left the Champions League semifinal wide open going into next week's return match in Manchester.Vinícius and Kevin de Bruyne scored with longrange strikes in a match in which Madrid's defense successfully kept Haaland - the Champions League's leading scorer - from being decisive."I think both teams have the feeling that it was a good result," said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who took charge of his 190th Champions League match as coach. "Maybe we played a bit better to deserve a victory, but it's a series that will be even until the last minute." Madrid beat City in last year's semifinals and went on to win a record-extending 14th Champions League title while the English club again fell short of European success."It was an even match," City coach Pep Guardiola said."
Dermot Corrigan, Dan Sheldon and Thom Harris have analysed the majour talking points at the Bernabeu, ahead of the second leg at the Etihad next week, including:
De Bruyne strikes in the Champions League again. City had a plan for Vinicius, but big-game players find a way. Carvajal stepping out of the shadow of Ramos and Casemiro. But did the ball go out in the build-up to De Bruyne goal?. Real did a good job of keeping Haaland quiet. Guardiola goes for tried and tested with oldest XI since 2019. Who will be happier: Pep or Carlo?. How Camavinga, Modric and Vinicius combined to break the deadlock
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