Kevin De Bruyne’s strike from distance ensured Manchester City would not go into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at a disadvantage after they came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
The Belgian fired past Thibaut Courtois from distance to cancel out Vinicius Jr’s stunning strike to open Real Madrid’s account in the tie.
It was a thrilling encounter between arguably the two best teams in Europe, but neither side were able to secure the crucial goal to take an advantage into the second leg.
It means things are finely poised heading into the return leg in Manchester next Wednesday.
Here are how the players rated in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final:
Real Madrid
Thibaut Courtois, 7
Made a strong unsighted save to deny De Bruyne and Rodri in the first half and denied the Belgian again in the second before the flag went up. He was not at fault for Manchester City’s goal.
Dani Carvajal, 6
Struggled to contain Jack Grealish down the left in the first half and gave away a few reckless fouls.
Antonio Rudiger, 6
One of the most highly-anticipated battles of the evening was his coming together with Haaland and he managed to prevent the Norwegian adding to his tally of 51 goals for the season.
David Alaba, 7
Worked hard throughout the game and made a good sliding challenge to stop Haaland in the second half
Eduardo Camavinga, 7
Not a natural left-back and without Vinicius tracking back, he had a busy match and provided the assist for Vinicius Jr
Federico Valverde, 6
Had to manage despite City dominating the majority of the possession but played a role on the right of a midfield three.
Toni Kroos, 5
For someone usually so dominant in the centre of midfield, he found himself slightly behind the pace of the match and put in several miss-timed challenges
Luka Modric, 7
Found his opportunities limited at times but played a crucial role in his side’s first goal
Rodrygo, 6
Did not have the same fortune down the wing as Vinicius Jr and was largely kept quiet by Manuel Akanji.
Karim Benzema, 7
He was the focal point of Madrid’s attacking threat, he caused problems for the Manchester City defence throughout with his clever movement
Vinicius Jr, 8
Scored a stunning strike to put his side in the lead, looked threatening throughout the match with his blistering pace which caused the visitors problems.
Subs:
Marco Asensio - 6
Aurelien Tchouameni - 7
Nacho - 6
Manchester City
Ederson, 7
He was not at fault for the goal and made a save to deny Benzema in the second half as well as a diving stop in the 89th minute to prevent Tchouameni’s strike from distance restoring Real’s lead.
Kyle Walker, 6
The English right-back had his work cut out trying to defend Vinicius Jr and worked hard throughout the match
Reuben Dias, 7
Dias made an impeccably timed sliding stop in the first half to prevent a ball across the box reaching Benzema.
Manuel Akanji, 7
He had a consistent performance at left-back and did not look out of place against a very experienced Real Madrid line-up.
John Stones, 6
He managed to limit Benzema’s attacking threat and carried his impressive Premier League form into the European arena.
Rodri, 6
Although he gave the ball away to Vinicius Jr and almost allowed him play the ball into Benzema, and had a clumsy shirt pull in the second half, Rodri did play a key role in De Bruyne’s goal.
Bernardo Silva, 6
Silva wove into the box to set up De Bruyne for City’s first real chance, but had his opportunities to affect the play afterwards limited by the home side.
Kevin De Bruyne, 9
He dictated City’s play from midfield and scored the equaliser with a well-struck low drive past Courtois
Ilkay Gundogan, 8
The midfielder played the ball cleverly into De Bruyne’s feet for his goal, and captained City well throughout the match.
Jack Grealish, 7
He was active throughout the match causing numerous problems for Real Madrid and played a part in the goal.
Erling Haaland, 6
An uncharacteristically quiet performance from Haaland. He had a tame effort at Courtois in the first half and was largely ineffective but was well-contained by the Real Madrid defence.
