Champions League: Should Manchester City’s Equaliser Against Real Madrid Have Been Overturned?

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne scored a vital equaliser against Real Madrid in the first leg of the 2022-23 Champions League semi-final clash.

The Belgian international found the back of the net in the second half to earn a much-needed goal for the Premier League giants. The goal did help to keep the tie delicately poised but De Bruyne’s strike was not devoid of controversy.

Fresh images, using 3D technology, suggest that the ball had gone out of play in the build up to De Bruyne’s goal.

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And it has left Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti angry.

The Italian head coach felt that Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was out of play with the ball during the build-up.

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has also cleared his stance on the contentious matter. While speaking on the validity of the goal, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development said that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) should have intervened to deliver a fair judgment.

Wenger, however, admitted that the ball going out of play is not something that falls within the ambit of VAR’s jurisdiction. “VAR has been created to make more right decisions [based] on facts – is the ball in or out? VAR has to intervene and make the right decision, this is absolutely 100 percent. At the moment, I believe we cannot check on the sideline if the ball is in or out, on the VAR. But we have a chip in the ball now, and with a chip in the ball you can check,” Wenger was quoted as saying on beIN Sports.

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Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior fired his team to a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute of the contest. Manchester City dominated the initial phase of the first leg of the semifinal but the Brazilian international’s outrageous shot left the visitors chasing.

Manchester City came up with a resounding response in the second half and Pep Guardiola’s men scored the second goal of the night in the 67th minute.

Erling Haaland faced Real Madrid for the first time in a competitive fixture but the Norwegian striker did not have a memorable outing against the Los Blancos. Haaland could only manage to have 22 touches and three shots against the defending Champions League winners.

The two teams will face off in the second leg of the semi-finals at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on May 18.

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