Decisive display proves Rudiger is a Real rock at the back

MANCHESTER, England — Antonio Rudiger put Real Madrid into the Champions League semifinals, not only by scoring the winning penalty against Manchester City on Wednesday, but also by keeping Erling Haaland quiet across both legs of the tie.

The German defender's two strong displays against City's Norwegian hitman helped Madrid hold its own across 210 minutes of thrilling quarterfinal action, ending in a 4-4 aggregate draw before the decisive penalty shootout.

After Luka Modric missed for Madrid, and goalkeeper Andriy Lunin denied Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic, Rudiger completed the 4-3 penalty triumph over the reigning champion.

The centerback strolled calmly up to the penalty spot and drilled a low effort in off the post, beating Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson, despite the Brazilian diving the right way.

Rudiger, who joined from Chelsea in 2022, is one of the few players in Madrid's squad yet to win the Champions League with Los Blancos, but he did lift it in 2021 with the Blues.

With David Alaba and Eder Militao out injured for long stretches of the campaign, Rudiger has established himself as an essential figure at the back for Madrid.

That was made stridently clear over the two legs against Manchester City, in which the 31-year-old stopped Haaland from adding to his 31 goals across all competitions.

After Rodrygo's early goal, City dominated, but Madrid's defense, marshalled by Rudiger and captain Nacho Fernandez, stayed afloat.

"I like it when I see a team that sacrifices and fights so much," said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

"Winning here can only be achieved in this way."

Before the tie, Rudiger said he approached his battle with Haaland as something "personal".

The defender excelled last season in the 1-1 semifinal first leg draw with City at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, Ancelotti dropped him for the second leg, and Madrid was hammered 4-0 by Pep Guardiola's rampant side, which went on to win the trophy for the first time.

Ancelotti accepted his mistake and confirmed on Tuesday that Rudiger would be starting against City at the Etihad Stadium this time.

Madrid's defensive display shows that the Italian made the correct call — not that Madrid had many other options with Aurelien Tchouameni out injured, and Militao only fit for a few minutes off the bench.

With the defense so stretched this season, it made its resistance against the English treble-winners all the more impressive.

"We showed another side of ourselves, we defended spectacularly," Madrid defender Nacho told Movistar.

"We fought until the end, this team has so much pride."

The only blot on Rudiger's copybook on a nearly flawless night was his involvement in Manchester City's equalizer.

The defender blocked Jeremy Doku's cross at the near post, but the loose ball fell to Kevin de Bruyne, who blasted home to force extra time.

Rudiger came inches away from deciding the game in the additional period, slashing a shot narrowly wide of Ederson's near post.

The defender did not have to wait much longer to beat the Brazilian goalkeeper.

Not only did Rudiger decisively score his own penalty, but first he helped Lunin stop his former Chelsea teammate Kovacic's spot-kick, by signaling the direction the Ukrainian should dive to stop the Croatian midfielder's effort.

Madrid will face Bayern Munich in the semifinals and, after shackling Haaland, Rudiger will fancy his chances of doing the same to former Tottenham rival Harry Kane.

AFP