Champions League: Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham Hotspur (4-4 on aggregate) - 5 talking points

#2 VAR serves justice

Llorente's controversial goal

VAR has been the center of many discussions since its implementation in the beautiful game. It has its fair share of believers as well as doubters but there is no doubt that if not for its presence, Spurs could have been unjustly knocked out from the competition. Its first big moment came when Fernando Llorente scored from a corner which looked like a handball on first impression.

However, replays showed that the ball deflected of his hips after taking the faintest of touches of his elbow to nestle into the net. However, City players were convinced that the ball struck Llorente’s hand and pleaded their case to overturn the goal. The referee rechecked the incident on the pitchside monitor before signaling that the goal stood and that the ball came off Llorente’s hip.

The best bit of drama though was reserved for the last. City just needed a solitary goal to go through and went hammer and tongs at Spurs with all they had in the dying embers of the game in their bid to find a winner.

And they nearly succeeded when Raheem Sterling netted in the 93rd minute and sent the City fans in a frenzy.

He peeled away in celebration, there were knee slides while Pep was hopping, punching the air and running crazy with ecstasy. Spurs were devasted as their valiant effort were not enough to stop the City juggernaut but VAR had other plans. The VAR team communicated to the ref that Aguero was offside in the build up to the goal and the referee signaled that the goal wouldn’t stand, with disbelief and shock spreading on the faces of everyone.

It was almost like Spurs were resurrected in the Champions League and City who had one foot in the semi final were pulled back and thrown off course. Pep had his head in his hands and that reaction summed up the entire evening, a match that will be talked about in years to come.