Who is Lunin, the hero of Real Madrid in the penalty kick against Manchester City :: Ole

The penalty shootout that allowed Real Madrid to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League has a first and last name: Andrey Lunin. The goalkeeper saved shots from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic to make it a bitter evening for Julián Alvarez’s team (he struck first and converted). From Ukraine to the hero of Merengue in Orejon, This is the story of the executioner “Citizens”.

Lunin was born on February 11, 1999 in the city of Krasnograd, Kharkov region (region). At the beginning of his teenage years, he moved to Metalist Kharkov, where he was already beginning to prove himself as a goalkeeper. This caught the attention of now-defunct Dnepr Dnipropetrovsk, forcing him to end his training and giving him the opportunity to make his debut in 2016, aged just 17, in the First Division.

A year later, Andrei left for Lugansk “Zarya”, also in Ukraine. Already in this team, Lunin managed to make his debut in the Europa League, as well as in the Ukrainian national team, where he earned a starting position at only 18 years old. The stages of the goalkeeper, who had already made a lot of noise in his country and who, after the game in UEL, began to excite the whole of Europe, were very fast.

His name reached the ears of Real Madrid, who quickly took notice and did not even hesitate: In mid-2018, he bought it from Zarya for 8.5 million euros and for six seasons. In principle, of course, as a long-term bet. In fact, Ukrainian, very young, He spent his first two years on loan: first at Leganes, then at Valladolid and finally at Oviedo.

It will be difficult for him to win minutes at the Merengues, where Thibaut Courtois has been a starter. But Lunin knew that he needed to at least gain the trust of the club in order to come on as a substitute. And I found how: at the World Under-20 Championship. Lunin was the starting goalkeeper and one of the figures of that Ukraine that won the title in Poland, where they even won the Golden Glove award. His stunning performance also made him a candidate for the Golden Boy as the world’s best under-21 player and the Copa Cup, but the awards went to Portugal’s Joao Felix and Dutchman Matthijs de Ligt respectively.

Although in the next two seasons Lunin played only five games. It wasn’t until the 2022/23 season that he got more opportunities because Carlo Ancelotti decided to give Courtois more rest. He even made saves in that edition’s Champions League and then in the two games Merengue played in the Club World Cup, against Al Ahly and Al Hilal, where they eventually became champions.

Following a torn cruciate ligament that Courtois suffered last August as the campaign was just getting underway. It seemed that Lunin’s ownership was secured. But a few days after the Belgian’s injury Madrid have announced the hiring of Kepa Arrizabalaga (the most expensive goalkeeper in history since 2018) from Chelsea. Given the gravity of this arrival, the Ukrainian knew he would have to do everything possible to compete for a goal with his teammate.

But little by little he gained the upper hand over the Spaniards. and that’s why he saved 19 of 32 games in La Liga, scoring 11 goals and keeping ten clean sheets; one in the Copa del Rey (Madrid lost 4-2 to Atlético) and six in the current Champions League, where they conceded seven goals and kept two clean sheets.

And only this Wednesday Lunin will leave his mark on Real Madrid reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. After a tense 120 minutes and with the score 1-1 (4-4 on aggregate), Merengue and City went to close out the second leg of the quarter-final with 12 steps. Julian struck first and converted; but then it was Bernardo Silva’s turn, and here the Ukrainian did not forgive: he stayed firmly in the center and comfortably parried the Portuguese’s shot.

Then Mateo Kovacic, former Real Madrid, chose the bottom left corner, but Lunin also guessed right. The score was still 1–1 until Jude Bellingham increased the score to 2–1 and then, following Ederson’s conversion, Antonio Rüdiger scored the final goal 3–1 to give the Merengue a place in the next round. Thus, the Ukrainian, who was questioned in the first match for Silva’s free-kick goal, ended up becoming the hero of Real Madrid’s 17th semi-final appearance in the history of the Champions League. Make your dream come true, who…