Antonio Rüdiger had been booed throughout because the Manchester City support had not forgotten what he did as a Chelsea player to Kevin De Bruyne in the 2021 Champions League final; the forearm smash that put their midfielder out of the game, which they would lose.
Rüdiger was a central figure here and, with his Real Madrid team leading through Rodrygo’s early goal, it was his fluffed clearance that played a part in De Bruyne’s 76th-minute equaliser, the goal that looked set to even the score on more than one level. Rüdiger would err again at the end of the first period of extra time, tiptoeing into an excellent position to the left of goal only to slice wide.
