Carlo Ancelotti has revealed Real Madrid looked to target Ederson during their 3-2 win over Manchester City on Wednesday. City were 2-1 up heading into the last two minutes thanks to a brace from Erling Haaland, while Kylian Mbappe had scored for Madrid. However, things fell apart at the death as late goals from Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham mean Madrid will take a one-goal advantage into the second leg.
Diaz's goal came after a poor pass from Ederson led to Madrid's attack, while he was lobbed by Vinicius Jr after rushing out to meet him which allowed Bellingham to poke home the winning goal. And Ancelotti has explained that Madrid deliberately targeted Ederson with their high press during the game. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Ancelotti said: "We looked to press high when Ederson had the ball, and to drop to a mid-block when he didn't, with the forwards coming inside and our midfielders not looking to push.
"With the ball, we wanted to create width, make the most of our quality, use the ball well and not get frustrated with long balls. In the end it all worked out.". City boss Pep Guardiola, however, delivered a staunch defence of his goalkeeper when asked about his role in Diaz's equaliser. "Eddy decided to play a long ball, it was not a good kick and they scored," said Guardiola. "Maybe we played short and they scored and you say play long. Players take a decision in the moment - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but it's not today, it has happened many times.
"Reflect and think and maybe in the future it will not happen and be brave for the next games. The previous games, the way we played we had to win for a big margin and it didn't happen. Today was tighter. "Madrid had chances and played good with the ball when in the past it didn't happen. In the moments that we should have the situation we could not manage it but we arrived in the last minutes with a good result and we could not keep it.".
The second leg will take place at the Bernabeu next Wednesday, with City needing to overturn the one-goal deficit in order to keep their hopes of winning the Champions League alive. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
