Antonio Rudiger not only scored the winning penalty against Manchester City on Wednesday, he also silenced Erling Haaland in the game to send Real Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals. The German defender twice impressed against Manchester City’s Norwegian forwards as Real Madrid maintained their lead throughout 210 minutes of the quarter-final tie, which ended in a 4-4 aggregate draw before penalties. Rudiger finished 4 on penalties after Luka Modric missed a chance for Madrid and goalkeeper Andrei Lunin blocked shots from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic. -3 beat the defending champion.
The centre-back calmly walked to the penalty spot and fired a low shot just outside the post which, despite being well-directed, beat City goalkeeper Ederson.
Rudiger, who joined from Chelsea in 2022, is one of the few players in the Real Madrid squad who has yet to win the Champions League with Real Madrid, but he did win it in 2021 with the Blues.
With David Alaba and Eder Militao injured for long periods of time this season, Rudiger has become an important figure in Madrid’s defence.
That was on display over two legs against Manchester City, where the 31-year-old stopped Haaland’s 31 goals in all competitions.
City dominated after Rodrygo scored early, but Real’s defense held firm, led by Rudiger and captain Nacho Fernandez.
“I love seeing a team that sacrifices and fights so much,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
“That’s the only way to win here.”
Before the game, Rudiger said he viewed his fight with Haaland as a “personal” matter.
The defender was outstanding in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the first leg of the Bernabeu semi-finals last season.
However Ancelotti brought him down in the second leg and Madrid were beaten 4-0 by Guardiola’s rampant side, who won the trophy for the first time.
Ancelotti admitted his mistake and confirmed on Tuesday that Rudiger will start against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Madrid’s defensive performance suggested the Italians had made the right decision – not that they had many other options, with Aureliano Chuameni out injured and Militao only able to come on for a few minutes as a substitute.
With the defense so tight this season, it makes their resistance to England’s Treble all the more impressive.
“We showed another side of ourselves, we defended very well,” Madrid defender Nacho told Movistar.
“We fought until the end and this team is very proud.”
On a near-perfect night, Rudiger’s only blemish on his transcript was his involvement in City’s equalizer.
The defender blocked Jeremy Doku’s cross at the near post but the ball fell to Kevin De Bruyne, who fired to send the game into overtime.
Rudiger’s shot in stoppage time narrowly missed Ederson’s near post and almost decided the game.
The defender didn’t have to wait long to beat the Brazilian goalkeeper.
Not only did Rudiger decisively score his own penalty, but he also first helped Lunin stop former Chelsea teammate Mateo Kovacic’s penalty, suggesting that the Ukrainian should have pounced to stop the Croatian midfielder’s shot.
Madrid will face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals and after tying down Haaland, Rudiger will be hoping for the chance to do the same to old Spurs rival Harry Kane.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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