That Militao is not Sergio Ramos was already known before the game started. And that Madrid was going to miss the absence of its captain, too. In a night of comeback, a player like the Sevillian is almost a goal in favor before starting and that, against City, was noticed.
Despite all the above, the one who seemed to carry the L on his back was not Militao, but his partner, Varane, who years ago shed his status as a beginner but today took it up again. His two monumental mistakes turned off the lights of Zidane's. The French defender set the bar very low for his partner who, even so, did not stand out very much. And it is that where Real Madrid had failed the least this season, in defense, was from where it bled against City.
Errors from the start
The whites insisted on getting the ball played from behind and there began their penance. They paid for it soon with a goal from Sterling, the result of citizen pressure, although, with the passage of time, they fixed it by taking the ball with long displacements.
Varane did not learn in the second half, which returned to give a goal, this time to Gabriel Jesús.
By then, Madrid was fighting and was in the tie, after Varane's mistake, no longer.
On the night of Militao, where all the insecure pointed out their distrust of the Brazilian, it was Varane who failed them. It will take time to forget French tonight.