Admire the performance of superhero Andriy Lunin and how he taught Man City’s Bernardo Silva & Matteo Kovacic a lesson in taking penalties

Martinez motioned to Dybala to attempt a midrange shot in the 2022 World Cup final after France had missed due to the goalkeeper’s intransigence. Lunin has now taken the opposite action.

The Man City versus Real Madrid penalty shootout got off to a rough start for the white team. The English champs’ first goal came from Julian Alvarez, and not too long after, Ederson blocked a shot that was judged in the proper direction by Luka Modric—possibly the player least likely to miss.

Andrei Lunin made a surprising stop in the penalty shootout that prevented Pep Guardiola’s team from going to the Champions League semifinals. The Ukrainian goalie easily stopped Bernardo Silva’s shot by remaining motionless in the middle of the goal.

Does Lunin recall the exchange that took place during France and Argentina’s penalty shootout at the 2022 World Cup final? Since Kingsley Coman had failed earlier for France, Emiliano Martinez instructed Paulo Dybala to shoot in the middle when the Alciceleste won the world championship. There is a hypothesis that a goalkeeper will not remain still during a penalty shootout after his team misses a shot out of concern that he will be looked foolish, which is why the Aston Villa goalie stated this to the Roma striker.

Lunin refuted this idea regarding goalkeepers during the “shootout” series by remaining motionless in the goal during the match against Man City, and he was correct. Real Madrid was tied after his calmness salvaged a draw. Bellingham’s next move was to capitalize on the Ukrainian goalie’s accomplishments, and he succeeded admirably.

According to Lunin’s post-match comments, it appears that he, Kepa (an additional goalie), and Luis Llopis (the goalkeeper coach of Real Madrid) had meticulously planned how to convert Man City’s penalty: “In the penalty shootout during a game, you occasionally have to remain still. Thank God, everything went smoothly.

Lunin then demonstrated his skill once more by stopping Mateo Kovacic’s subsequent shot. The Real Madrid team then advanced to the Champions League semifinals when they stopped making blunders when positioned 11 meters away.

Initially replacing Thibaut Courtois, Lunin is an unsung hero of the season. Following the ιnjury to the Belgian goalkeeper, Kepa was forced to return to the bench. But for now, Lunin is not just the Real Madrid team’s idol as they search for a second European Cup, but also a substitute.