Match report as Champions League semi-final first leg finishes level between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid; Vinicius Junior opens scoring before Leroy Sane and Harry Kane net twice in four second-half minutes; Vinicius equalises with late penalty; second leg to be played on May 8
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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has called on the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to replay Sunday’s El Clasico encounter with Real Madrid if there is conclusive evidence that Lamine Yamal’s ‘phantom’ goal ought to have stood.
After Yamal’s strike was disallowed by VAR in Barcelona’s 3-2 defeat at Real Madrid, head coach Xavi Hernandez criticised the officiating in LaLiga, which does not use goal-line technology.
Yamal’s effort in the 28th minute was reviewed by VAR for several minutes, as it appeared to cross the line before Real keeper Andrey Lunin cleared it. The goal was disallowed and VAR awarded a corner to Barca.
Laporta’s statement on Monday opened: “As president of FC Barcelona, I would like to put across my dissatisfaction the day after the improper use of a tool such as VAR in one of the most important matches in the global schedule is marking our calendar.
“As you well know, I have never been a great defender of VAR because I believe that, as it is applied, it takes away football’s spontaneity. But what I am in favour of is that, now that we have it, we always use to avoid errors that can lead to unfair decisions.”
Vinicius Jr and Lucas Vazquez’s goals helped Real equalise twice after Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez had put Barca ahead.
Jude Bellingham scored the decider in the 91st minute, securing Real’s fourth consecutive win over the Catalan side. Second-placed Barca trail by 11 points, a deficit that will be difficult to overturn with six games remaining.
Laporta continued: “In this appearance I am making, I am not only bringing together the unhappiness of Barca fans with the management of VAR yesterday [Sunday], but also, I am highlighting the fact that even though it is a tool that has been used for a while, it continues to create confusions with contradictory criteria according to matches and teams.
“Barcelona would also like to highlight the power of our competition and that we are successful and followed by millions of fans around the world, but we cannot be exempt from criticism when the use of VAR undermines our product.
Laporta’s lengthy statement added: “We understand the difficulty faced by officials, but it is for that reason that such tools exist (like VAR) which should help the competition be fairer and not the other way around. Yesterday, there were several debatable incidents but amongst all of them there is one that is crucial and can change the result of the game.
“I am referring to the ‘phantom goal’ by Lamine. As a club we want to be sure about what happened, and it is for that reason that from FCB we will make an immediate request to the Technical Refereeing Committee at the Spanish Football Federation for a comprehensive collection of footage and audio from the incident.
“If once this documentation has been analysed, the club understands that an error was made in the revision of the incident, we will take all available measure to reverse the situation, without discounting, obviously, any necessary legal action.
“If it is confirmed that it was a legal goal, we will move ahead and we do not discount requesting that the game be replayed, just as has happened in another game in Europe due to a VAR error. Finally, I would like to underline that despite our focus on this incident, we also disagree with various others that occurred during the game, and that could have been reviewed using VAR.”
The game Laporta refers to took place in January, when it was announced that a Belgian Pro League match between Anderlecht and Genk would be replayed in full due to a video assistant referee (VAR) error.
The country’s disciplinary council for professional football ruled in favour of a Genk appeal on the grounds of a misapplication of the laws of the game.
Laporta hopes that decision, believed to be the first of its kind in European football, has set a precedent after an initial ruling by the refereeing body that there would be no replay was challenged on appeal by Genk, whose request for another game was upheld by the senior group.
LaLiga is the only top five league in Europe not to use goal-line technology. After Barcelona fans criticised LaLiga for lacking the tech, chief Javier Tebas responded on X by sharing several reports of past incidents where the technology was shown to be inaccurate saying, “no comment”.
Barcelona, who were knocked out of the Champions League last week, host Valencia in LaLiga on April 29.
Xavi told reporters, when asked about the controversial events at the Santiago Bernabeu: “We can’t control them. These are refereeing actions. I think the team is doing very well, we competed very well, we were better than Real on their own pitch and I think we deserved the three points in every way.
“My feeling today is one of maximum injustice. Goes without saying, everyone saw it,” he added. “My feeling is that today’s match was not fair.”
Jude Bellingham struck a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Real Madrid inched closer to a record-extending 36th LaLiga crown with a stunning 3-2 comeback victory over title rivals Barcelona in El Clasico.
Real twice fought back from a goal down before Bellingham smashed in the winner at the far post to beat the champions for a fourth successive time.
The result sees Madrid establish a potentially crucial 11-point lead over over Barca at the top of LaLiga with just six games remaining.
Barca took the lead in the sixth minute when Andreas Christensen headed in following a corner after Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin failed to clear the cross from his six-yard-box.
Vinicius Jr equalised 12 minutes later from the penalty spot after Lucas Vazquez was fouled inside the box.
Wasteful Real dominated the second half but missed several chances and allowed substitute Fermin Lopez to give the visitors the lead again in the 69th minute from a rebound.
But Real would hit back for the second time as Vazquez lashed in a volley four minutes later.
Real kept pushing for another goal and their perseverance paid off in added time when Vazquez raced down the right channel and crossed to Bellingham, who fired in the winner to spark jubilant scenes at the Bernabeu.
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Holders Manchester City are out of the Champions League following a penalty shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid in an epic encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
After a 1-1 draw on the night that left the teams tied 4-4 on aggregate, Antonio Rudiger scored the winning spot-kick after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic had their attempts saved to see the 14-time winners progress 4-3 in the shoot-out.
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Ben Ransom and Adam Bate assess where Manchester City went wrong after crashing out of the Champions League on penalties to Real Madrid.
Rodrygo had given Carlo Ancelotti’s side the advantage on the night and in the tie with an early goal on the counter-attack but Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute equaliser took the game into extra-time, in which neither heavyweight could deliver the knockout blow.
It was a backs-to-the-wall effort by Madrid and Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions were applauded from the pitch even in defeat. But their hopes of an unprecedented second successive treble are over. It is Madrid who face Bayern Munich in the last four.
“We have to control him,” Guardiola had said of Jude Bellingham on the eve of this second leg but it was the England player’s sublime touch, bringing the ball down from the Manchester sky, that helped Madrid take the lead early in the game.
Bellingham fed Vinicius Junior and his cross was met by Rodrygo, the man who broke City hearts in that famous semi-final in 2022. He needed two attempts to beat Ederson but Kyle Walker, having recovered from injury to start, was not close enough to stop him.
That set the tone for the night. City, trying to become the first team other than Real Madrid in 34 years to retain this trophy, dominated possession, roared on by the home crowd as they searched for an equaliser. It demanded constant concentration from Madrid.
Erling Haaland almost found a quickfire response but headed over with one chance and then struck the crossbar with another. The rebound found Silva but the Portuguese was unable to sort his feet out in time and the ball trickled agonisingly wide of the post.
But Madrid were threatening on the counter-attack. The ability of Vinicius, in particular, to play out of the City press, was a worry throughout and one lightning breakaway resulted in Dani Carvajal having a free shot. Ruben Dias did brilliantly to block the effort.
Those counter-attacks were few and far between in a second half that was played out inside the Madrid half with City probing. It came after Guardiola turned to Jeremy Doku. It was Rudiger’s failure to clear that presented De Bruyne with the equaliser.
The Belgian almost added another with a spectacular strike soon after but should have scored with a more straightforward chance, firing his shot over the bar. That meant extra-time and the smart money was on Madrid tiring. They were hanging on.
Rudiger had the opportunity to make amends, missing the best chance of the first period of extra-time. With Haaland withdrawn for the home side and both Vinicius and Rodrygo taken off by Ancelotti, the more familiar scorers were no longer on the pitch.
Madrid were the happier team with penalties – despite Luka Modric being denied. Silva tried to knock it down the middle but Andriy Lunin stayed there. Kovacic had his effort saved. Ederson took the fifth kick himself and scored but could not keep out Rudiger.
It was a cruel end for City, who will feel they were the better team, but Madrid’s resolve was rewarded and will fancy their chances against less than ominous looking Bayern in the semi-final. City’s trophy defence is over. What impact will this have on their run-in?
“First of all, congratulations to Real Madrid,” said Guardiola afterwards.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola explains why Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were subbed off against Real Madrid.
“We did everything, I don’t have any regrets. Always, you try as a manager to create more and concede less. There were one, two or three transitions but that is normal. We played exceptional in all departments. Unfortunately, we could not win. That is how it is.
“Today, they defended deeper than the previous seasons. We created chances. But football is about scoring goals. From the penalty spot, they did it a bit better than us. Sometimes you win with penalties, sometimes not. The way we played, we should have done it before.”
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Rodri believes Manchester City did enough in their quarter final tie against Real Madrid to progress to the semis, with the Spaniard left unhappy with the tactics of Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Guardiola confirmed that the decision to substitute Haaland and De Bruyne, along with Manuel Akanji, came following requests from the players. “Erling and Kevin asked me to come out,” he revealed. “They could not continue. Same as Manu.”
With the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday, there is little time to dwell on this defeat. The treble is gone but the double remains within their reach. “After winning, recovery is easier than losing. That is the way it is.”
Real manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted the strength of City had forced them to soak up pressure and look to take the tie on penalties.
He said: “We defended really, really well. This was about survival. Madrid is a club based on always fighting to stay in situations where there seems to be no way out – but we always find a way.
“By the time the penalty shoot-out came, we were totally convinced we’d go through.
“This is about the only way you can come to City and win. You work, sacrifice and win however you can.”
“It’s a relief because you put so much into the game,” said Bellingham, speaking to TNT Sports.
“I have played against City when you have been close, you think you are going to get something out of it and then suddenly they snatch it away from you. You have to work really hard to beat them. To win the game was a massive reward.
“It is incredible. Moments like this are magic and it just comes down to mentality. When you get those details right and you get those little moments, like the penalties, when the lads keep their cool, it is magic. This was beautiful.
“My brother is here today and it is the first time he has been able to see me playing for Madrid. I feel really proud about that.”
Manchester City face Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday, kick-off 5.15pm. City then resume their Premier League title charge at Brighton on Thursday April 25, live on Sky Sports, at 8pm.
They then head to Nottingham Forest three days later on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 4.30pm.
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