Real Madrid's step back condemns them to winning at the Etihad | The truth

Carlo Ancelotti's team will have to change its history in a venue where it has never won and which has gone 29 consecutive Champions League games without seeing its team bend the knee. A major challenge, but not impossible for a squad that has carved its legend based on seemingly unattainable feats.

All of this as a result of a dispute in which Real Madrid appeared completely in front of a Manchester City team weakened by the infirmary. Ancelotti placed Tchouaméni in the axis of the rearguard and arranged a powerful battalion in the center of the field in order to challenge the blue team's control of the ball, while Guardiola was forced to act as a tailor to mend the unstitching derived from the absence of four of his most trusted soldiers.

With Walker and Aké convalescing in Manchester, the Catalan coach reconfigured the defense by moving Akanji to the right side, since Gvardiol did arrive in time to lie down on the left flank. But the one from Santpedor suffered a severe setback at the last minute as a result of De Bruyne's stomach problems, which took the Belgian out of the eleven and brought in former Real Madrid player Kovacic. Under sticks, with Ederson lacking rhythm after spending a month in dry dock, Ortega kept his place.

The stars seemed to align in favor of Real Madrid. However, City immediately dispelled the predictions. He did it by taking advantage of two big mistakes by Real Madrid, first by Tchouaméni, who went to the ground at the wrong time and earned a yellow card that will make him miss the return leg at the Etihad at the end of the cycle, and then by Lunin, who misplaced the barrier and was He slept in the beating of Bernardo Silva.

The Portuguese's goal from a set piece was a cold shower for a Bernabéu team determined to tighten the screws. With the roof covered and the decibels sky-high, the liturgy was impeccable, despite the dissonant staging. Nervous about City's early goal, Real Madrid went through a period of anxiety, but rose from the canvas with greatness. A shot from Camavinga that diverted its trajectory after touching Rúben Dias and confused Ortega equalized the forces and Rodrygo, catapulted by Vinicius before surpassing the goalkeeper with a blow that went in tamely after touching Akanji's heel, set a temple on fire. hyperexcited

Give and take

Ancelotti surprised by centering Vinicius' position and leaving the left side to Rodrygo in a dispute uncorked based on give and take. Always suspicious of Madrid's athletes, the scenario bothered Guardiola, who called a chapter and folded his sails. All in all, Rodrygo and Vinicius had the third in their boots in a first half that showed off a superior Madrid based on their enormous aggressiveness in duels and maximum verticality.

With Kroos empowered, Rodrigo minimized and Haaland suffocated again by Rüdiger – the Norwegian barely touched thirteen balls in the first half – the locals deserved a higher income at the interval, but they spared City. An inexcusable sin.

Because Real Madrid backed down after the interlude and despite the fact that Bellingham threatened with a shot that crossed too far and Vinicius had the last straw in his boots after being assisted by Rodrygo in another textbook counterattack, City took its toll. Foden and Gvardiol executed from the balcony of the area against a Real Madrid that paid for its conservatism.

It is a countercultural current for a squad that was expected to have more strength after nine days of rest, but which showed signs of exhaustion as the match progressed. The biggest example was Bellingham, a thoroughbred who completed his most lackluster performance of the course.

Luckily for Real Madrid, Chamartín's men have another mainstay who is tireless. Vinicius, with a short fuse but infinite rope, took his team out of the UCI, assisting Valverde so that the Uruguayan could break the darkness with an extraordinary volley and then it was City that remembered old ghosts. Rúben Dias prevented Bellingham 'in extremis' from scoring the fourth from point-blank range while the Bernabéu reverberated in the shelter of another epic night, but the attacks were declining while waiting for a sentence to be issued by the fearsome Etihad.