City, springboard for Modric

Clearly, Carlo Ancelotti saw no solution to getting rid of Manchester City’s overwhelming dominance on his bench.; If that were the case, he would have used up six substitutions (five plus extra time) instead of four. True to his tradition, he rushed the time to begin the change of command, also because he felt that the whites, although tired, continued to honestly defend their territory. And when it came time to remove the tree, he put experience before youthful energy: Modric came on in the 79th minute, replacing Kroos.

Madrid had been given the stick in the form of a draw by De Bruyne shortly before and Ancelotti trusted the 38-year-old Croatian to galvanize the midfield and get out of the cave in which the English had locked Madrid. The coach realized that he was taking him out of the game not for eleven minutes, but for half an hour of extra time and for possible penalties. Carletto had an example of the first match in which Modric regained control of the match and White achieved a difficult draw that ultimately proved decisive for reaching the semi-finals.

At the Etihad, circumstances were not so favorable: the Zadar team found Madrid exhausted and under pressure in all areas of the field, and However, he was able to make 18 good passes out of 21 (86%), complete two crosses into the box (most of the team tied with Brahim and Rodrigo), make two tackles, both of which were successful, and recover four times ball (Camavinga added only one rebound in 120 minutes plus extension). In short, it was further proof that Modric has it in him to stay at Madrid for another season, even if he faces rotation in midfield and another alternative from the bench in important games.

In the penalty shoot-out, he was chosen as the first kicker due to his experience (especially against Croatia), although Ederson gave him a scare with an unwanted goal. Lunin and his teammates came to the aid of Modric, who once again shouted loudly at the Etihad that Madrid was his priority.

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