A Real Madrid penalty shootout for history

The epic that usually accompanies every Real Madrid European Cup conquest appeared on his way to the goal of the fifteenth, with a penalty shootout for the history that increased the resistance exercise, which appointed Andriy Luninwhere they asked not to be thrown Fede Valverde and militaryexpert ruled Luka Modricand marked three defenses as Lucas Vázquez, Nacho Fernández and Antonio Rüdiger.

In a new chapter for the saga of Madrid in the Champions League, the penalty shootout, after standing against the storm of football of the current champion, the City of Manchester (120 attacks, 34 shots), he could not start in any way other than a failure that put him at a disadvantage to return.

This time in the final round. After the greatest specialist left the field at the end of extra time, Luka Modric missed his shot. Ederson guessed the side chosen by the Croatian midfielder. Everything is against us. Ancelotti replaced regular pitchers like VinIcius and Rodrygo. No one else took a farm like Joselu Mato.

Among Madrid’s other pitchers, Jude Bellingham is the only one accustomed to shouldering that responsibility. And it didn’t fail. His efforts kept him alive real Madrid in the shootout before Lunin stood up to block Bernardo Silva’s shot. “We prepared all the players who were in the game and who could shoot, we had to take a risk with one to stay in the middle of the three options and it was Bernardo. It turned out well,” recognition of Ukrainian goalkeeper.

Of ice. With the highest confidence. Known in the past, on a different level, with Valladolid, already victorious from the Copa del Rey shootout against Marbella. He also stopped two shots for a stat that adds weight and makes him known as a penalty specialist.

Since he has been in Spanish football, Lunin has taken fifteen shots and saved seven. He prepared it Luis Llopis, winner of the particular battle of goalkeeper technicians against Xabier Mancisidor. Also Basque. Team member Pep Guardiola.

And with Kepa Arrizabalaga buried any pride a footballer might have had who went to Real Madrid to become a starter and lost the battle with Lunin. Advises his partner on the pitches as a student of football and a great connoisseur of the rival from his years in England. Count Antonio Rudiger, who directed Lunin to the side where he would shoot Mateo Kovacic, his second stop, after sharing adventures both at Chelsea.

Real Madrid’s pitchers were surprised. They are on that one paper Davide Ancelotti taught Three defenders out of five selected. The reason was Fede Valverde’s request not to be shot. I was physically at the limit and didn’t feel confident.

while, Eder Militao He thought this was not a good time to take center stage. More than just a serious knee injury. Against a goalkeeper who knows him very well who is with him in the adventure with the Brazilian team. Nacho and Rüdiger They took a step forward in leadership that gave peace of mind to Carlo Ancelotti and his son Davide, the man responsible for this aspect.

“With four or five minutes left I started thinking. Jude is a pitcher, Luka too. Lucas is a very good pitcher. Nacho has experience and personality and in practice we find that he is determined to go to one side. And Antonio is a player with balls,” he reviewed in front of the media. Of the five players on the list he first showed to ‘Carletto’, two were changed after talking to the players.

Lucas Vázquez already scored a memorable penalty, as did his kiss on the ball and the turns he made while juggling on one finger in a display of composure in a moment of intense pressure. In Milan, in the Champions League final. This time, his gesture was to tap the ball before scoring the third-highest penalty of his career. More than six years have passed, since he scored Fuenlabrada in the Copa del Rey, without kicking a single one.

Energized by the captain’s armband Nacho to get rid of the bad taste in your mouth. Change for Ancelotti’s choice of a midfielder like Aurélien Tchouaméni to play center back. Without David Alaba, injured, and with Militao recently recovered without a competitive rhythm. His first penalty in an official match at the club where he played his entire career. He scored one of the lower categories of the Spanish team, including the U-17, in the semifinals of a World Cup against France.

The decisive one went to Rüdiger who adjusted his shot to the post. It’s like he’s a great specialist. The third penalty of his career, all scored, after kicking the Chelsea in 2021 in the final of the European Super Cup against Villarreal and a year later against Liverpool in the English Cup final. This gave way to a special celebration, where everyone threw themselves over the German defender except Modric, who took the weight off his shoulders and ran to Lunin to thank him for the ‘favor’.

Success is not balanced balance, until Etihad tied, for Real Madrid in penalty shoot-outs of UEFA competitions after two wins and two losses. They fell first, in 1975, in the quarterfinals of the European Cup against Red Star; won the second, Juventus, in the quarterfinals of the European Cup in 75; It was eliminated by its next rivals, Bayern, in the 2012 Champions League semi-finals with Sergio Ramos, Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo failing at the Santiago Bernabéu; and celebrated the last precedent before City, against Atlético de Madrid in the 2016 Champions League final in Milan.