Vinicius shone in a good Real Madrid who paid for his fatigue in the cup

The first leg of the Champions League semi-finals met the expectations of both sides. Especially in the initial stretch. Real Madrid suffered when the ball came out due to early pressure from a Manchester City team focused on avoiding losses in the danger zone.

Pep Guardiola’s teams wanted to turn the match into a ball possession duel, in which they hardly looked at the opponent’s goal. The fear of running the ball out was strong and until the 25th minute they had it up to 72% of the time, but they hardly created opportunities. In return, Carlo Ancelotti’s side managed to do damage on the few occasions they managed to get off the pace. Especially when he started from positions that were far behind so that Valverde, Vinicius, Benzema and Rodrygo could run.

There is no one with a better ball to pass the ball from one side to the other than City, because they have ideas and perfect interpreters. But if you do that at the Bernabéu, against a well-established Real Madrid team, you risk minimizing your striker’s interventions. Haaland was almost completely missing.

Vinicius especially shone in the host, who gave away the bands, protecting himself well from the inside. A determined football player with a great influence on the team. It improves every action it takes part in and is capable of killing matches. The Whites were punished too much for being complacent in meeting the opponent’s approaches to the edge of the penalty area, from where he took several shots. In one of them there was a draw. Advancing a few steps, the defense would be a perfect match.

They were also tired. The demanding final of the King’s Cup took its toll and everything is open for a return.