CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Who is out for Real Madrid’s Champions League return leg against Manchester City
Real Madrid head to Manchester having battled to a 3-3 draw against Guardiola’s men, but they will be missing a defender.
Real Madrid will travel to play Manchester City on April 17 in the second leg of their Champions League quarter final without their defender Tchouameni. The teams finished 3-3 in the first leg.
Going into tonight’s opening leg, the French defender was one of four Real Madrid players on the brink of suspension... and he saw yellow within the first 38 seconds. City launched a counterattack led by Grealish, who got past Carvajal, sent a long ball forward, and in an attempt to intercept, Tchouameni arrived late and committed a blatant foul. No room for debate. And for breaking up a promising attack, he picked up yellow and will miss the second leg.
Nacho left out for Tchouameni
The suspension is a major blow to the Frenchman, who had been the big surprise in the starting lineup, coming in and leaving Nacho on the bench. Ancelotti, concerned about aerial threats, had opted for Tchouameni over the captain, a decision that could be a blow to Nacho’s morale.
Tchouameni had been performing outstandingly as a center-back, but that error just 38 seconds into the game sees him sidelined for what is set to be a huge night of European football, with the sides poised at 3-3. To add insult to injury, City scored the opening goal from the foul Tchouameni committed.
Three more on the brink
Tchouameni wasn’t the only player in jeopardy: Camavinga, Bellingham, and Vinicius would also have missed the match in Manchester if they had received a yellow card. They managed to avoid that.
Players out for City
City had just one player at risk: Rúben Dias, who avoided a yellow card, meaning Guardiola has all of his players available for the return leg, unlike Tchouameni, who is now definitively ruled out.
Yellow cards wiped at semi-final stage
The yellow card count in the Champions League doesn’t reset till the semi-final stage, that means that if a player picks up a booking that leads to a suspension in the second leg of the quarter-final that will be served that in the first leg of the semi-final. The reset clears all other accumulated cards meaning players cannot miss the final from an accumulation of yellow cards.
Real Madrid still have Bellingham, Vinicius and Camavinga who could miss the first leg of the semi-final, were Madrid to qualify, while Manchester City have only Ruben Dias in the same situation.