Real Madrid and Manchester City had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night, setting up an enthralling encounter between the two teams when they meet in the return fixture at the Etihad Stadium next Wednesday.
Excellent goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Vinicius Jr. gave us a thrilling opening game in the tie, but the draw means we're not really any closer to knowing whether City's famous treble can become a reality.
Pep Guardiola employed some interesting tactical developments during the game, utilising Kyle Walker in the hybrid right-back/centre-back role, pushing John Stones into the centre of defence when Real Madrid had the ball.
The Englishman would then assume his defensive midfield position everyone has become accustomed to this season when Manchester City had possession, though this caused some slight confusion behind him. Walker, naturally an overlapping full-back, was clearly told in no uncertain terms by Guardiola that he had to stay put, after a few attempts at gallivanting runs early in the match.
He eventually adhered to this, which, arguably, led to Real Madrid's opening goal. With Walker a lot deeper than usual, Real left-back Eduardo Camavinga picked the ball up deep in his half and had plenty of space to run into down the left flank.
Walker's positioning allowed the Frenchman to carry the ball into the final third, where he popped it off to Vinicius Jr. only when Walker attempted to engage with him.
From there the Selecao star struck stupendously into the top corner of Ederson's goal. Of course, Kevin De Bruyne managed to level the scores in the second half with a finish displaying expert technique of his own, setting up a hugely pressurised second leg, with a place in the Champions League final at stake.
It'll certainly be interesting to see what Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti come up with for their teams next week.
