Carlo Ancelotti broke his losing streak against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday as they overcame the reigning champions on penalties.
Antonio Rudiger scored the decisive spot-kick, off the inside of the post, to beat Pep Guardiola’s side with Bernardo Silva and Matteo Kovacic missing the decisive efforts for the hosts.
Both sides drew 1-1 after 120 minutes as the two clubs couldn’t be separated for the second time in over a week, following their enthralling 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid had taken the lead through Rodrygo as he finished his own rebound following a smart stop from Ederson.
However, City answered back when Kevin De Bruyne netted in the second-half sparking dominance from City. But Madrid saw off the challenge and came out on top in the lottery of spot-kicks.
The triumph of Ancelotti broke the streak of successive defeats at the Etihad Stadium. City ran out 4-0 winners in last season’s second-leg on course to their famous treble and in the year prior to their triumph in Turkey, although it was disappointment for City, the Spanish giants suffered a 4-3 defeat in the first meeting.
Dedicated fan account, Madrid Universal, relayed Spanish journalist Edu Agurre’s claim after he reported: “Ancelotti is superstitious. In the last two seasons, Real Madrid came here and lost twice, while they slept in a hotel different from this one. Ancelotti has now changed hotels because he wants to break the curse.”
Madrid stayed at the Lowry Hotel in Salford and helped enhance Ancelotti’s superstitious nature. Speaking after the game, he said: “We started well, we took the lead and then we started to defend, to suffer, to qualify.
“We thought we would play differently, but when we took the lead we dropped the block too much. And City had more control. It always has. I think we defended very, very well.
“We took advantage of the opportunity we had. We tried to start the game strong, not like last year, to have more pressure. It worked out well for us because we scored early. And then we defended, fought and sacrificed. For me, it was the only way to get out of this tie alive.”
