Vinicius Junior had something in store for the Etihad Stadium. "Stop Crying your heart out" read the giant banner that occupied one of the stands at Manchester City's stadium in last year's tie. With that slogan and a photo of Rodri kissing the Ballon d'Or, the British fans reminded the Brazilian of what happened at the award ceremony, where the forward and the Real Madrid delegation were absent in Paris for not receiving the award. So, this Tuesday, when Vinicius scored the penalty that sealed the tie in favor of the white team, he knew exactly the gesture he was going to make: he silenced the fans by putting his index finger to his mouth and then brought his fists to his eyes, making a crying gesture, referring to last year's banner.
It was the goal that decided everything and came after City's initial siege, with up to three incredible saves from Thibaut Courtois, the other protagonist of the duel. The Belgian made four incredible saves in the first half before leaving injured at halftime due to a strain in his right abductor. Cherki, Rodri, and Haaland found him, desperate, a few minutes before the review that changed the night.
The VAR room at the Etihad spent five minutes analyzing the play that led to the penalty and Bernardo Silva's red card. First, a possible offside by Vinicius at the start of the action, and then Silva's elbow, extended to prevent the Brazilian's goal on the rebound. Turpin waited on the field and then went to the screen on the sideline, receiving hundreds of insults from the home crowd. The result, disastrous for City: penalty and red card.
Vinicius, far from hiding after the missed penalty in the first leg, took on the responsibility again. Initially, Güler grabbed the ball, but then handed it to the Brazilian, who repeated the same side and avoided the unnecessary jump that caused him to miss a week ago. It was his revenge for the banner, which along with his goal in injury time, now adds up to nine in 15 games since Arbeloa's arrival. Previously, under Xabi Alonso's command, he had scored seven in 33 games. A fact that explains the turnaround Vinicius has experienced since the change of coach. The forward now has 34 goals in the Champions League, just one behind Puskas. Impressive. "Football is very long, and last season they provoked me, and I was able to make the celebration that I felt was necessary," he said about the gesture.
At halftime, with tension between Donnarumma and Rüdiger, Courtois stayed in the dressing room. The Belgian went to the tunnel talking to Luis Llopis, and immediately Lunin came out to warm up. During one of his stretches, the Belgian got injured. It was the Ukrainian's turn, the hero from two years ago in the penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.
In the 68th minute, Mbappé returned to play after five games absent, almost a month, and was part of Real Madrid's 4-1 victory over City in the ties played between them in the last five years. The modern football classic belongs to the whites.