THE NOTEBOOK: ‘Spaniard Mike Dean’ is back to haunt Pep Guardiola, superstitious Carlo Ancelotti asks Real Madrid to change team hotels and Phil Foden shows the way to Wembley

Real Madrid qualified for the Champions League semi-finals after beating Manchester City 4-3 on penalties on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium.

Antonio Rudiger scored the decisive kick after the match ended 1-1 in overtime and 4-4 on aggregate.

Rodrygo gave Madrid the lead in the 12th minute with a double effort from close range to beat City goalkeeper Ederson to the rebound.

City now dominated the match with Kevin De Bruyne equalizing in the 76th minute by firing a high shot into the net from close range.

Mail Sport’s Jack Gaughan takes a look at some things you may have missed.

Real switching hotel

Things are very convivial in the hours before the biggest Champions League matches. Top brass from both sides gathered here for a meal, sharing stories and thoughts.

City president Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Real president Florentino Perez were among the dignitaries who broke bread.

There was a common theme: the City and Real hierarchy agreed that this quarter-final felt like a final, telling each other so.

Perez then visited Real’s Lowry base to wish them luck, with Carlo Ancelotti’s change of hotel last year believed to have been driven by superstition.

Former referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz returned to the Etihad as a pundit on Wednesday evening

Ref is back to haunt Pep

He could very well have made his debut under a sheet given the history with Pep Guardiola, but Antonio Mateu Lahoz was a notable presence in these parts.

Lahoz, 47, retired last season after three decades as a referee and has now found his new calling – some would say – as a pundit.

Lahoz, who has had several clashes with Guardiola, was on duty for Movistar Plus+ and is described as ‘Spain’s answer to Mike Dean’. There can be no greater praise.

Guardiola’s problem with Lahoz came to a head during the 2018 quarter-final against Liverpool when the Catalan confronted the official at half-time.

He was sent off and had to start the following season in the stands.

Real Madrid players avoided stepping on Man City crest in Etihad tunnel

Badge of respect

A respectful group, the Real team.

They all refused to step on the City badge in the Etihad tunnel on the eve of this match.

You can hardly miss it when jogging to practice on the field and they all decided to avoid it, not surprising as the ridge stretches almost the width of the walkway.

The real fans wasted no time in Manchester.

If they weren’t drinking at Sinclair’s Oyster Bar, they were wandering around Old Trafford.

They also traveled during the match: some reached their home areas and the stewards intervened when they celebrated the opening match.

Foden leads the way to Wembley

A mural of 192 ‘Wembley Express’ was displayed in the South Stand before the match

Guardiola drove a bus before all this started: the 192 “Wembley Express”, running through the South Stand, a mural with Guardiola at the front and Phil Foden at the side.

The 192 is the bus route from Stockport, where Foden is from.

That meant the road to Wembley, where this year’s final will take place.