The ball was there to hit and how Kevin De Bruyne hit it. It was midway through the second half, Manchester City were behind to Vinícius Júnior’s scorching 36th‑minute blast and the feeling was starting to take hold that Real Madrid had this Champions League semi-final first leg exactly where they wanted it.
For City, the demons circled at the venue where it had all gone horribly wrong for them in the second leg of last season’s semi-final; the collapse at the end of normal time, two goals shipped to Rodrygo after the 90th minute, Karim Benzema’s extra‑time winner. Madrid were en route to their 14th title.
