Most people commenting on Fernandinho's pulverising at the hands of Vinicius Jr last week in the first leg couldn't help but reference the Manchester City star's age and understandably so: the 36-year-old was made to look double his age as the Real Madrid star sped past him and ran the length of a half to get his team back into the game and tie.
Age is only a number though, and any confidence Vinicius Jr may have had lining up against another player he was more than a decade younger than for the second leg were extinguished the moment he tried to run past Kyle Walker. As if his return to the team wasn't miraculous enough, the 31-year-old Walker instantly set about showing what an extraordinary defender he is.
For the second Champions League game in a row, Pep Guardiola gambled; at the Etihad, John Stones was rushed back from injury and didn't last 45 minutes, and here Walker came back into the XI having not played for three weeks because of an ankle injury sustained during the quarter-final win over Atletico. "I'm not a guy that likes to risk but there are moments of the season where you have to risk. This is one of them," the manager said before kick-off.
Also read: Real Madrid expose awkward Man City questions despite Guardiola plan
It may yet have deeper consequences for Walker for the rest of the season. There was some surprise he emerged for the second half at the Bernabeu after Fernandinho underwent an extensive warm-up during the break, and there is no guarantee that the pain Walker played through won't sideline him again.
Even Guardiola could not have expected the England defender would be as good as he was though as he put in a truly world-class performance - on one leg at times in the second half - to try and help City through to the final. Given what happened in the first leg, it is not too much of an exaggeration to think that the Blues might not have been in with a chance of heading to Paris were it not for Walker.
Much was made of the battle against Vinicius and so much of the play went down that channel. With half an hour on the clock, the right-back showed patience to stay on his feet and dispossess the Brazilian winger; a few minutes later his shoulder barge was perfectly weighted as the ball dropped over the top of the City defence where any miscalculation would have been a red card; just after that he accelerated to catch up with his man and then produced a brilliant sliding tackle to clear the danger.
By then, Ruben Dias had seen enough. City's captain for the night came straight over to Walker and gave him a big bear hug, a man who knows all too well about dominant defending appreciating a fine example of it.
It was clear in the second half that Walker's race was run as he limped up and down the pitch, and Vinicius started winning their duels as Real took the upper hand. When the right-back slumped to the floor just after the hour mark, he looked as though he had given all he could.
Up and on he went though, defying expectations yet again as he returned to the pitch and resumed his defensive duties guarding Ederson's goal before he was taken off 10 minutes later following another clash with Vinicius that put sharp pain on his ankle. As a last show of defiance, he walked off the pitch rather than take the stretcher offered.
He gave everything to put his team in the final. Horribly for him, his teammates couldn't match his contribution to see the game out and if Walker is fit enough to play again this season he doesn't have a Champions League final to prepare for.
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