Revealed: Why Manchester City’s goal against Real Madrid was allowed to stand

Manchester City’s equalising goal against Real Madrid was correctly allowed to stand despite provocative protests from Carlo Ancelotti on the touchline.

Kevin De Bruyne cancelled out Vinicius Jr’s emphatic first half strike with a powerful driven effort at the Santiago Bernabéu, as Manchester City take a 1-1 draw into next Wednesday’s defining second-leg clash.

A victory at the Etihad Stadium will book the Blues’ place in a second UEFA Champions League Final, after Pep Guardiola’s side fought back from behind to secure a vital draw in the Spanish capital.

City dominated possession and registered several early attempts on goal, however the current European champions hit back with a counter attacking goal to take the lead on the 36th minute.

Real Madrid broke away down the left flank, before Vinicius unleashed a rocketing effort past Ederson to smash the home side into a 1-0 lead.

Manchester City successfully weathered an early second half storm and equalised through Kevin De Bruyne, who thumped City level with a firing low drive in the 67th minute.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti fumed at the decision for the goal to be awarded, with the Italian adamant that the ball had gone out of play in the build-up and picking up a yellow card for his aggressive protestations.

“The ball was off the pitch [in the build-up to Man City’s goal]. That’s it. Technology said it. I don’t understand why VAR didn’t check it,” exclaimed Ancelotti post-match.

A graphic on social media post-match also caused a notable backlash online, despite TV angles seemingly inconclusive, as Bernardo Silva controlled the ball close to the touchline.

Despite anger from the Real Madrid manager, Dale Johnson at ESPN has reported that sources have stated that Kevin De Bruyne’s goal was allowed to stand because “the attacking phase of play was reset” when Eduardo Camavinga gave the ball away.

Anything prior to the Real Madrid player’s misplaced pass “isn’t valid for review” according to the journalist, who writes a weekly column analysing VAR decisions.

Furthermore, the graphic which emerged on social media, derived from beINSports, isn’t approved for use by UEFA or available to the Video Assistant Referees.

There is currently no specific implemented technology to determine whether the ball has gone out of play.