It was a tense affair in the first leg of the 2022-23 Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Manchester City. Speaking after the game that ended 1-1, Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti was not happy with the referee about an incident during the build-up to Man City’s equalizer. His counterpart Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, wants his team to learn from the draw.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti says referee Artur Soares Dias was “not paying a lot of attention” during Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
City and Madrid were forced to settle for a draw on Tuesday evening as Vinicius Jr and Kevin De Bruyne both scored stunners in a tight contest at the Bernabeu.
Ancelotti was shown a yellow card for protesting against De Bruyne’s equalizer in the 67th minute.
The Italian was adamant the ball went out of play in the build-up to the Belgian’s sensational strike when Bernardo Silva stretched for the ball, but the move resumed before De Bruyne fired into the net from outside the box.
An image shown by BeIN Sports appeared to confirm Ancelotti’s suspicions and after the game, the Italian accused the referee of lacking focus throughout the match.
The Madrid boss said in his press conference: “It’s hard. It’s not me saying it, it’s technology saying it. I think it’s strange they couldn’t control it properly but we could have won 1-0. It wouldn’t have changed a lot 1-0 but small details could have won us the game.
“The referee was not paying a lot of attention. He gave me a yellow card and I was not playing. The players, I believe, deserve more cards all over the pitch. He was not paying a lot of attention.” BT Sport pundit Joleon Lescott said: “There’s a case for both [arguments]. “There’s a lot that happens since that incident. There’s a sloppy pass from [Eduardo] Camavinga and I don’t know how or why they were giving Kevin De Bruyne so much space here on the edge of the box because he’s one of the cleanest strikers of the football.”
“He didn’t have a great angle,” added Michael Owen. “He was about three or four yards off the touchline, so he wasn’t even looking down the touchline. The linesman was only about 10 yards away. Granted he was looking at the back of Bernardo Silva but I’d be very, very surprised if Ancelotti had a great angle of that and could say categorically that it was out.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was pleased with his team’s performance but said he wants the side to “learn” from the draw. “When we were better, they score,” he said. “When they were better, we score. Tight, tight game. The Bernabeu in the semi-final, sometimes we had good moments and sometimes it was difficult with the quality they have on the ball. Final next Wednesday at home with our people.
“We started really well in second-half as well and then after they got the game we could not take it.
“They play a lot of passes on the left and they are really good there but then we score a fantastic goal through Kevin [De Bruyne] and had good moments and then at the end they had a few good chances.
“They are so demanding, with the experience and quality. We are traveling to Manchester and we will see what we can do better. “When you play this kind of game it is like a play-off, so hopefully we can learn, defend better and attack better.” On Erling Haaland’s performance, Guardiola said: “The pockets and distances between the central defender and full-backs was occupied. It was not easy for Erling. He moved well and had his chances.”
