Kepa Arizabalaga may have lost his position as Real Madrid’s No.1 goalkeeper, but Chelsea’s former record signing still played a crucial role in his side’s Champions League win over Manchester City.
After a tense second leg at the Etihad Stadium ended 1-1 after extra-time, the tie was settled in a dramatic penalty shootout.
The holders looked on course for a semi-final place when Luka Modric’s opening effort for Real was saved by Ederson, only for Bernardo to instantly blow that advantage.
An already tense situation was hardly made easier for the City midfielder by his own club’s fans who held onto the ball and forced him to wait to take his kick.
When the referee’s whistle eventually blew, Bernardo chipped the ball down the middle of the goal, expecting Andriy Lunin to dive, but could only look on in horror as the Ukraine international stood his ground and made a routine catch.
Mateo Kovavic missed City’s next spot kick with Lunin making a more conventional save and after successful conversion from Jude Bellingham, Lucas Vazquez, Nacho and Antonio Rudiger the Spanish giants were able to celebrate a momentous victory.
‘We prepared it with the goalkeeping coach and there were three players with whom we had doubts about whether to stay in the middle or not,’ Lunin told Marca afterwards.
‘I needed to take a risk with one of the kicks, we picked one (to stay in the middle) and thank goodness it worked out in our favour,; he added in an interview with Movistar Plus+.
The 25-year-old also had help from his team-mates, with Kepa talking with him prior to the shootout, having faced City spot-kicks before.
Indeed, in the 2019 Carabao Cup final, a game famous for Kepa’s refusal to leave the field prior to the shootout and defying his then manager Maurizio Sarri, Bernardo beat the Spaniard from 12 yards by placing his penalty down the middle of the goal.
Despite, missing from the spot Pep Guardiola refused to pin any blame on Silva, saying: ‘Bernardo asked to take it, he’s a reliable player and decided to shoot in that way. What a game he had played. It happens.
Guardiola also had no complaints about Real’s tactics, with the Spanish side forced to sit back and defend deep for much of the game.
‘I don’t judge,’ he said. ‘I’m not here to do this. It’s football. In this competition, that’s the way football happens.’
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