Real Madrid added another chapter to their rich history of special moments in the UEFA Champions League as they defeated Manchester City via a penalty shootout to secure their place in the semi-finals.
In what was an intense battle at the Etihad Stadium, Real Madrid held on for over 120 minutes and then dumped out Pep Guardiola’s men via penalties to set up a date against Bayern Munich.
Luka Modric stepped up to take the first penalty and missed, after which all four Real Madrid players – Jude Bellingham, Lucas Vazquez, Nacho Fernandez, and Antonio Rudiger converted from the spot.
With Andriy Lunin saving Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic’s efforts, Los Blancos got through to the semis.
Two Real Madrid stars did not want penalty duties
Following the match, it has now emerged that two Real Madrid players asked not to take penalties during the shootout win against Manchester City.
Indeed, Federico Valverde and Eder Militao asked the coaching staff to be exempted from taking a penalty during the shootout, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Militao recused himself from penalty duties as he felt that the opposition goalkeeper, Ederson, knew him very well and could guess which way he planned to kick.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid assistant manager, Davide Ancelotti, revealed that Valverde asked to be left out of the penalties as he was severely fatigued and in no position to take a spot kick.
“When there were four or five minutes left I started thinking. Jude is a shooter. Luka is a shooter. Lucas is a very good shooter. Nacho had experience and personality and in training we had seen that he was going one way…. And Antonio is a player with balls,” explained Davide.
“Federico was going to be the fifth, but he told me he was very tired, and he was really dead, so we decided that Rüdiger would take it. The decision on the shooters is up to the coaching staff,” he added.
In the end, everything worked out as intended for Real Madrid, who will now shift their focus to the upcoming La Liga clash against Barcelona on Sunday.
