The battle that never happened was buried beneath the grandeur of Manchester City's night of European perfection. Vinicius Junior Mk II and Kyle Walker. When only one of the competitors is competing, it is difficult to evaluate the contest.
It's difficult to think of a time when City has enjoyed a finer, more complete night than today under Pep Guardiola. If Vinicius Junior had a more nondescript 90 minutes, he too would have attempted to bury the memory at this point. Vinicius Junior possesses a talent so rich that some have attempted to position him as the best player in the world.
Walker disclosed last week at the Bernabeu that Vinicius had attempted to humiliate him by pulling off a "rainbow flick" up and over the defender's head.
Football players typically keep this type of activity for the practice field. There was no rainbow for the Brazilian here at the Etihad. He appeared as though he was trudging through Manchester mud for the most of this game.
Vinicius' simmering resentment had already grown by the 20th minute. And so, that indirectly contributed to City's first goal.
Throughout the first half, City's performance was all but faultless. Real discovered on this occasion that Guardiola's club have progressed to such a level that this was not so much a half of home superiority as extraordinary dominance, after miraculously surviving two semi-final games last season that the English side controlled.
None of the players in black appeared to be as upset by this as the young Brazilian. Teammates like Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric have been around for a while. If not frequently, they have been here previously.
Vinicius, meanwhile, was visibly uneasy by the game's early pace and course. The 22-year-old stood at the touchline in front of the dugouts as City had possession and control of the field.
In the 21st minute, Thibaut Courtois made the second of two outstanding stops to deny Erling Haaland, and Vinicius motioned frantically at the Madrid back four to tell them to attempt to press their opponents further up the field.
Real certainly had a pressing need for territory. But without the ball, it's difficult to gain territory.
A short while later, Vinicius attempted to control a throw-in just inside his own half, but his first touch was so heavy that it simply gave the ball back to City. It's possible that he was shaken by his own sense of annoyance.
Real fell behind within a minute as Walker and Kevin De Bruyne helped City play the ball back and forth across the field, creating the openings that allowed Bernardo Silva to steek in and score the game's first goal.
It appeared to be the turning point in the game. Up until that time, City had been so dominant that failing to score would have undoubtedly contributed to the perception in these parts that City and this big competition are just doomed to never get along.
As it was, City added a second goal to solidify an advantage that had seemed to be theirs from the first whistle. Walker made the decision to remain away from the celebrations near the corner flag after that win and instead stood triumphantly facing the fans in the stand on his side of the field.
Walker barely had to put on the gas once in the first half, despite all the hoopla after the first leg and even in the immediate lead-up to this one about his battle with his opponent and his own enduring pace across the ground. A ball was delivered into the inside left channel from the Real half just after the half-hour mark, and for a brief period, Vinicius had a yard on the City right back.
Walker briefly found himself in the terrifying area that all defenders avoid when facing swift opponents. Vinicius would inevitably cut over him if he got too close to him in an effort to draw a foul. Avoid getting too close or Vinicius might score.
However, Walker is incredibly swift, as evidenced by here. He passed Vinicius in five steps, took possession of the ball, and the threat was over.
It's intriguing to see Walker's position under this Guardiola system. In Mauricio Pochettino's forward-thinking Tottenham team seven or eight years ago, the 32-year-old made his name and established his reputation as a more than competent attacking full back.
Walker rarely ventured far enough forward to join in, but center back John Stones continued to offer an extra body to the City midfield when they had the ball. That might have been done out of respect for the potential harm his direct rival posed. Giving someone like Vinicius an advantage in a race of feet is pointless.
The difficulty increased in the second half as well. Probably inevitable was that. Football psychology is such that a team with a two-goal advantage will frequently find itself sitting deeper, whether on purpose or not.
This created tension. Real didn't have any real opportunities either. A run by Vinicius followed by a purposeful tumble in the penalty area was met with disinterest from the referee and contempt from the home crowd, while Ederson in the City goal continued to have an air of underemployment.
This was a night to remember for City, one that would eventually lead them someplace they had never visited. The night began with a shot for Walker in the third minute and a last-ditch tackle by Vinicius in his own half in the fifth. That essentially captured the tone of it.
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