Manchester City drew 1-1 with Real Madrid last night in the first-leg of the Champions League semi-final.
Pep Guardiola’s side are in a good position ahead of the return leg next Wednesday, and can be pleased on the whole with how last night’s game went.
Vinicius Jr’s rocket put Real ahead in the first-half.
But the irrepressible Kevin De Bruyne produced one of his own in the second to level the scores.
City were comfortable in possession for the majority of the night.
They had to navigate a tricky 15-minute period at the start of the second-half. But City were good at the Bernabeu.
But they did have to be strong defensively last night, with Real obviously boasting some very dangerous players.
Vinicius was a huge handful for Kyle Walker, and Rodrygo also had some lively moments.
Ederson had to make a few good saves to ensure City’s good position ahead of the next game.
Former World Cup winning centre-back Frank Leboeuf gave his thoughts about the game for ESPN FC and, naturally, wanted to highlight some of the defending on show last night.
And he was left very impressed with one action by City star Ruben Dias.
It came in the 24th minute, when he had to be at full strength to cut out a cross from Vinicius. Had it made its way past the Portuguese, Karim Benzema would have had an easy tap-in.
Leboeuf said: “I enjoyed what I saw defensively. I thought Rudiger was fantastic against Haaland. The fantastic tackle of Alaba on Haaland in the second-half. The great interception that Dias made on the Vinicius assist to Benzema – that was pure class!
“Sometimes we emphasise the offensive aspect of the game which is the essence of football. But what they did defensively, both teams at some point, was very interesting.”
Ruben Dias was a colossus once again last night for Manchester City against Real Madrid
That interception from Dias was seriously impressive, as he could actually easily have turned the ball into his own net because he was full stretch.
To get there and hook it back to where it came from was brilliant.
It was a brilliant display overall from Dias, who has really helped City to become more solid over the past few months.
Him returning to the backline has had a huge impact.
Hopefully, he will be rock-solid once more for the return leg next week.
