Sf there is a winner of the first leg of the semifinal between Real Madrid and Manchester City, that is Antonio Rudiger. The German faced a Erling Haaland who scares everyone with his goals, his physical power and his simple presence. He scares everyone except the former Chelsea player, as he has shown from minute one to ninety.
In addition, the center-back had ahead of him the challenge of convincing all the fans of the Madrid entity, something that until now had not been achieved one hundred percent. It was the first part of the exam on D-day and H-time and he has passed it with tuition, although he knows that everything is pending what happens in Manchester next week.
The German defender hasn’t had it easy since his arrival at Real Madrid and that’s a few days after arriving Carlo Ancelotti He showed up at his house to the surprise of the German and his family. The white club is different from everything else, which is why the coach’s gesture greatly eased the tension of the first days.
Champions League semifinals (first leg): Summary and goals for Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City
“What a beast brother!”
Rüdiger himself acknowledged in a recent interview with MARCA that There is nothing like putting on the white Real Madrid shirt. The silence, accompanied by the rumor that sometimes they appear at the Bernabéu take their toll and sometimes they mark the trajectory of some players and what Rüdiger did on Tuesday night is finish them off.
The company that the German defender had ahead of him was not easy at all. During the previous days he has worked mentally in what it meant to face Haaland, something in which the coaching staff has logically helped, but the final push has come via david praises.
There are players with charisma, whose mere presence is enough to stimulate teammates and fans and, incidentally, intimidate rivals. A few months were enough for the Austrian, for a chair to win over all Real Madrid fans, but he conquered the dressing room and the coach from the first day. In the case of Rüdiger, he has been by his side from the beginning, helping him in difficult moments. Alaba knew that the match against City could be definitive for the defender. And that is why he has exercised as a partner, as a leader.
As it happens with all the signings (he arrived with the letter of freedom in hand), the one of Rüdiger did not escape the debate. there were doubts, but in the end everything leaned towards the arrival of the German, who lacked a match like the one he experienced against Haaland, to confirm himself as what he is, a purely elite defender. His teammates were the first to know that he needed something like this and more in the game in which he did it. Camavinga, Nacho, Odriozola, Valverde, Vinicius and even Marcelo, who did not coincide with him, They recognized what the German had done on social networks. And it is that since he arrived he gave himself up to everyone, earning the appreciation of the entire dressing room. “What a beast brother!”, “Tremendous!” and “Stopper” were some of the compliments from his teammates in the locker room after the game.
Rüdiger and his teammates (Kroos also did his part) managed to get Haaland to touch the ball thirteen times, which lost it five times, that he only shot twice (header in the first half and a shot blocked by Alaba in the second), who lost the ball five times and only made three correct passes and completed just one dribble. And Rüdiger had a lot to do with it.
Seven years ago he received a letter from Florentino Pérez Wishing you a speedy recovery from an injury you sustained. Those lines did not include what was going to happen later, but from that moment on she dreamed of it. And he has fulfilled it. Not like others.
