Last night, Erling Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, was escorted from the Bernabeu after celebrating Kevin De Bruyne’s equaliser in the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Manchester City. Reports suggest that the 50-year-old, who also acts as his son’s agent, was goading the home support by cupping his ear and sarcastically waving to the fans below him. He was also accused of throwing peanuts, while one of his companions was seen mocking Real fans.
Haaland himself endured a rare quiet evening during which he was unable to add to his incredible 51-goal tally this season, as Antonio Rudiger kept him extremely quiet. Rudiger’s performance was praised by Ancelotti, who said: ‘Toni Rudiger… excellent. Top performance. He was very good, he’s a player with great experience, quality.’
Rudiger is confident that Real Madrid will progress to the final despite the draw, saying: ‘We are Real Madrid, we are always confident.’ He added: ‘They got the goal quite late so we feel like we could have had more but it’s not a problem, the tie is definitely on and we can go to Manchester with confidence.’
The second leg of the semi-final will take place at the Etihad Stadium next month, with Manchester City the favourites to advance to the Champions League final.