The Etihad Stadium witnessed a thrilling seven-goal thriller in the UEFA Champions League 1st leg tie between Real Madrid and Manchester City last week, and the return leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is expected to be no less than a similar affair as the two European giants prepare to face-off.
⌛️ Just 90 minutes from Paris!
? Which two will reach the final?#UCL pic.twitter.com/CzitrzyNRe— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 2, 2022
The 2nd leg encounter will be directed by experienced referee Daniele Orsato and his team of Italian delegates.
⬛️ Daniele Orsato will be the referee in charge of our match ? @ManCity. #UCL pic.twitter.com/vZal1wTDy6
— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) May 2, 2022
The 46-year-old Vicenza-born official’s appointment is ominous for the hosts – Real Madrid – with Orsato having overseen their last two eliminations from the continental competition, first against City themselves in 2019/20 in a controversial 2-1 defeat at the Bernabeu in the first leg, before losing out to Chelsea in 2020/21 semi-final by a 2-0 scoreline at Stamford Bridge.
The last time Real Madrid played a game at Santiago Bernabeu with Daniele Orsato as referee… pic.twitter.com/rYXIzKmb39
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 2, 2022
In total, he has managed six games featuring Los Blancos in the tournament.
The last time Orsato officiated a Champions League knock-out fixture featuring Madrid was in this year’s Round of 16 clash at the Parc Des Princes – a match where Kylian Mbappe stole the show with the solitary goal at the death. A referee since 2010, he has been in charge of 41 UCL games in total, including the 2020 final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
Accompanying Orsato will be Alessandro Giallatini and Ciro Carbone as assistant referees, while Davide Massa is the fourth official. Massimiliano Irrati and Paolo Valeri will be part of the VAR team.
Both Madrid and City will tread cautiously as Orsato has averaged 4.4 yellow cards per game in the competition, sending off seven players and awarding 11 penalties in the process.