Nullification of Haaland a triumph for Madrid's midweek elite

Madrid's defence snuffed out the threat of City’s goal machine as both sides were able to take a positive spin from a tantalising first leg

SHUT DOWN: Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger and Manchester City's Erling Haaland shake hands after the UEFA Champions League, semi-final, first leg match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

Perhaps the most telling moment of Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at the Bernabéu came nine minutes into the second half as Erling Haaland finally located a clear channel of space down the side of the Real Madrid centre-backs and set off towards goal with that easy surging stride, range finders starting to bleep and flash, finger poised over the kill button, eyes narrowing behind his aviators, target locked on.

At which point David Alaba produced an extraordinary recovery tackle. Jockeying back to within sliding range, Alaba hurled himself in a gymnastic semi-pirouette around Haaland’s raised shooting foot. Still sliding, still processing the maths, the drag vectors, Alaba successfully hooked his own left foot in front of the ball’s predicted path and blocked the shot as it pinged off Haaland’s toe towards the far corner of the goal.