Why was Kevin De Bruyne's equalizer against Real Madrid not disallowed? Expert explains reason for controversial decision

Real Madrid and Manchester City played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday night (May 9). Los Blancos coach Carlo Ancelotti was not happy with the result, with him claiming that the visitors should have had their goal disallowed.

Kevin De Bruyne scored sensationally from outside the box in the 67th minute to cancel out Vinicius Junior’s equally stunning 36th-minute goal. Ancelotti immediately appealed against the goal, claiming that the ball had gone out of play before De Bruyne’s strike. The referee showed the Italian a yellow card for his frantic appeals.

In his post-match press conference, Ancelotti referred to beIN Sports’ images that showed the ball went out of play before the goal, claiming that the VAR should’ve rechecked it.

ESPN Editor and VAR expert Dale Johnson has countered the Real Madrid manager, explaining why De Bruyne’s goal was not ruled out.

“This image has been created by beINSPORTS, and it isn't instant nor is it in any way official,” he said (via GiveMeSports).

“The VAR will manually check the position, but the only tool he has is the television cameras. Unlike on the goal-line, there's no camera angle directly in line with the side-line.”

Johnson also claimed since the ball used in the Champions League didn’t have a tracking chip, there was no way for VAR to determine whether the ball had gone out. Additionally, as per football’s rule governing body, the IFAB, VAR cannot intervene in throw-in calls.

FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger suggested that VAR had not gone far back enough to determine whether the goal was “regular” or not. However, that argument has also been disproved because De Bruyne’s goal did not come directly from the incident.

As per football laws expert Christina Unkel, the goal came three or four plays after Eduardo Camavinga had won back and then gave away possession to Manchester City. According to the IFAB, the passage in which De Bruyne’s goal came thus had no relation to the throw-in incident in the previous passage of play.

With the scoreline firmly poised at 1-1, Real Madrid and Manchester City will meet in a winner-takes-all semi-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium on May 17.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola explains his lack of substitutions against Real Madrid

Despite having the likes of Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, and Julian Alvarez on the bench, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola refrained from deploying even a single substitute. In a post-match press conference, Guardiola explained why he did not change his playing XI against Real Madrid.

He said (via Football-Espana):

“I thought that those who were there were fine.

“Bernardo and Grealish could keep the ball and it was something we needed. If the game went crazy we didn’t have the same level [on the bench as them] as them, we needed pausa.”

Guardiola’s opposite number Carlo Ancelotti made three changes but waited until the 81st minute to start with his substitutions. The Real Madrid boss took off Luka Modric (87’), Toni Kroos (84’) and Rodrygo (81’), bringing on Nacho Fernandez, Aurelien Tchouameni and Marco Asensio in their place.