The secrets of Real Madrid’s penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester City have been revealed as Pep Guardiola’s hopes of a double treble faded.
Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin saved penalty kicks from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic early in the shootout before Antonio Rudiger stepped in to give the Spanish team the pass.
A 1-1 draw followed after 120 minutes of majority City dominance, with Kevin De Bruyne canceling out Rodrygo’s opening goal for Real.
Lunin spoke afterwards about how Real identified three City players who were most likely to take their penalties through the middle and that intuition paid off when Silva fired a terrible kick straight into his gloves.
Kovacic also sent his kick to the center and Lunin was able to get down to his right to repel it.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin saves Mateo Kovacic as preparation paid off in Champions League victory over Manchester City.
Moments earlier, Lunin had made a very simple save to deny City’s Bernardo Silva a goal.
Ukrainian goalkeeper Lunin was the hero of the moment when Real expelled the current champion
“We prepared it with the goalkeeping coach and there were three players with whom we had doubts about whether to stay in the middle or not,” Lunin said. brand after.
Another factor was that some Real Madrid players actively rejected the possibility of taking a shot.
Luka Modric was denied by Ederson when he took Real’s first shot, but Jude Bellingham, Lucas Vázquez, Nacho and Rudiger made no mistake.
Marca said Eder Militao turned down the opportunity to do so because fellow Brazilian Ederson knows his intentions too well.
Federico Valverde was another of those who did not take a step forward among the five designated starters because he suffered fatigue after extra time.
Instead, Modric and Vázquez, who had come on as substitutes and had fresher legs, took a step forward.
The role of Kepa, the goalkeeper who lost his position to Lunin a few months ago, was also revealed.
Davide Ancelotti, son of coach Carlo and his assistant, explained that Kepa helped refine Real’s pitching lineup in the closing stages of overtime.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was seen talking to Lunin shortly before the shooting
Eder Militao (left) and Fede Valverde (right) were two Real players who did not want to take one
Antonio Rudiger appeared to tell Andriy Lunin where Mateo Kovacic would shoot
Rudiger was harassed by his teammates after scoring the winning penalty against City
Kepa then chatted with Lunin in the break before the shooting to pass on his advice.
Kepa has experience of facing City on penalties – he played for Chelsea in the 2019 Carabao Cup final and refused to be replaced by coach Maurizio Sarri with Willy Caballero at the end of extra time.
Although Kepa saved a shot from Leroy Sané, City won the penalty shoot-out 4-3, but the goalkeeper’s advice this time led to a bit of revenge.
Rudiger also helped by appearing to tell Lunin which direction Kovacic would send his penalty.
Footage showed Rudiger frantically pointing to his left, the goalkeeper’s right, moments before his former Chelsea teammate took the penalty.
Lunin obliged and stopped Kovacic’s attempt, putting Real Madrid on their way to the semi-finals.
The Ukrainian goalkeeper later revealed that the decision to stay was made before the penalty shoot-out.
Rudiger stepped forward and scored the decisive penalty that gave Real Madrid a place in the semi-finals.
“I needed to take a risk with one of the kicks, we chose one (to stay in the middle) and thank God it worked out in our favor,” Lunin said.
“It’s a Champions League game away from home and we suffered a lot… but I’m very grateful to the team for everything they’ve fought for. I can’t imagine running like my teammates did today.”
That stop was the turning point in the penalty shootout, as Madrid scored their last four penalties and reached the semi-finals.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side will now face Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals after the German giants beat Arsenal 3-2 on aggregate.