Coach of Real Madrid and Manchester City, as well as the fans, experts, and followers of both teams, were watching and eagerly anticipating what Norwegian striker Erling Haaland would do against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
However, the surprise was that Haaland didn't contribute anything noteworthy or pose a threat to Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, the guardian of "Los Blancos' goal. The credit goes entirely to the German Antonio Rüdiger, who kept the Norwegian "hurricane" in his pocket and only let him out at the end of the match, declaring his overwhelming victory in the personal battle between the two players.
A video that went viral on social media shows how the German international effectively shadowed the Norwegian international, accompanying him wherever he was on the field.
This performance impressed Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, who praised Rüdiger, saying, "Tony was excellent, his performance was outstanding. He is a player with great experience and high quality. It wasn't an easy task, but he played extremely well. I am very happy with what Tony did in the match."
The numbers for Rüdiger in yesterday's match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, indicate that he:
- Won two aerial duels.
- Successfully intercepted three balls.
- Successfully recovered three balls.
- Completed 31 successful passes.
Most importantly, he neutralized the danger posed by a striker who has scored 51 goals in 47 matches across various competitions, forcing him to touch the ball only 21 times.
