Manchester City fans didn‘t forget when Vinicius showed disrespect towards their hero Rodri, who won Ballon d‘Or before the Brazilian, and moaned for days after that. So, they used the first game of the Champions Legue playoffs to ‘welcome‘ the Real forward with a giant tifo, depicting Rodri collecting the Ballon d’Or award, with a message reading: ‘Stop crying your heart out.’ But after 90 minutes of football, Vinicius came victorious not only with a win, but with a men of the match reward.“I saw the banner from Man City fans – and it motivated me even more. Whenever rival fans do things, it gives me more strength to play a great game“ he said after the game.Bellingham and Diaz stun City in another epic gameVinicus used the opportunity to again plead his innocence when it comes to his behavior on the pitch. What we see on the football field is one, but for the Brazilian, it‘s all totally opposite.”Sometimes it’s complicated. The referees don’t protect players who get kicked. I get fouled, and yet I’m the one who gets a yellow card. My teammates try to help me stay focused, and so do the coaches. I’m not a saint, but I want to win, no matter what“ he sad.The 2024 #BallonDor winner loves it! 🥹🩵 @WeAre1894 #UCL 📸 @footballontnt pic.twitter.com/7E4fWG1KWG— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) February 11, 2025 As for the losers, City coach again repeated that he is currently not good good enought in terms of preparing his players.”I’ve been here for many years and we’ve been an extraordinary team, a machine every three days. This year, I accept when the opponent is better but at the moment I’m not good enough to give composure to the team to manage these situations. I can’t be angry with my team because we know the team we’re facing. The question is sometimes when you’re playing at this level and you have that good result so close, to let it slip out of your hands is more difficult to accept“ said Guardiola.LIVE BLOG UCL playoffs: Jude with a late death to kill Man City!The replay will be played at Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday 19th of February so former City striker Sergio Aguero has six more days to keep his testicals intact. The Argentine striker, who played for Manchester for 11 years logically supports his former club, but his recent statement sounds more like of some kid who doesn‘t know anything about football.“Real Madrid cannot beat Man City. If they beat City, I will cut off my testicles!“ he said on Som I Serem FCB Podcast, a day before the game. Considering he has been so long in the game, a pure amateur statement. He better be prepared come Wednesday night.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – PLAYOFFSTuesday Brest – PSG 0-3 (0-2)/Vitinha 21(p), Dembele 45,66/Juventus – PSV 2-1 (1-0)/McKennie 34, Mbangula 82 – Perisic 56/Man.City – Real Madrid 2-2 (1-0)/Haaland 19, 80 – Mbappe 60, Diaz 86/Sporting – Dortmund 0-3 (0-0)/Guirassy 60, Gross 68, Adeyemi 82/Wednesday20.45: (3.60) Club Brugge (3.40) Atalanta (2.10)23.00: (7.75) Celtic (4.80) Bayern (1.40)23.00: (2.95) Feyenoord (3.45) Milan (2.35)23.00: (2.35) Monaco (3.45) Benfica (2.95)***odds are subject to change***
