Last night, Real Madrid and Manchester City played out a tightly-contested encounter that ended in a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.

With the first leg ending in a draw, both teams will head into the reverse fixture next week with no advantage as far as the scoreline is considered.

However, it could have been very different as Real Madrid could have finished last night’s game as winners.

In the buildup to Kevin De Bruyne’s goal in the second period, the ball appeared to have been out of play when Bernardo Silva controlled it and carried on.

The referee did not whistle and the play was allowed to continue, with De Bruyne eventually finding the back of the net with a scorching effort from just outside the box.

It sparked a lot of protests from Real Madrid players while Carlo Ancelotti, on the touchline, also argued about the decision, which even resulted in him being shown a yellow card.

The VAR also did not intervene, much to the frustration of Ancelotti, who pointed it out during his press conference, saying: “beIN showed the ball was out. We all saw it, 3D technology. But VAR didn’t see it.”

Now, UEFA sources have issued clarification on the play, stating that while the ball was indeed out of play, the VAR could not intervene because Real Madrid had won the ball back momentarily and therefore it was considered a ‘new passage of play’, reports Eurosport (h/t Madrid Xtra).

It was a mistake from the referee, not stopping for the ball being out of play, but the VAR could not enter into the equation to rule out the goal as it was already a new passage of play when Real Madrid regained control of possession even if it was only briefly.

So, even though there was an error made by the referee on the pitch, the VAR was unable to intervene due to a technicality.

Real Madrid will still take a lot of confidence from their performance against Manchester City, especially given how they managed to shackle Erling Haaland, restricting him to the fewest touches by any player during the game.

The Merengues will have to dust themselves off and go at it again at the Etihad next week as they look to defend their European title.