Kevin De Bruyne was heard asking for Luka Modric’s shirt after Real Madrid and Manchester City played a thrilling Champions League quarter-final match.

It was expected to be an intriguing match ahead of kickoff, but few could have foreseen the drama that occurred inside the new-look Bernabeu on Tuesday night.

Andriy Lunin’s shaky goalkeeping allowed Bernardo Silva to put the visitors ahead within two minutes.

Los Blancos responded quickly with an own goal from Ruben Dias, and then Brazilian attacker Rodrygo made it 2-1 with 14 minutes remaining.

Things heated up further in Madrid when Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol restored City’s lead with two second-half long-range shots.

However, with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, Uruguay international Federico Valverde produced a Champions League goal of the season contender, giving the hosts a fighting chance in the second leg.

Following the final whistle on Tuesday night, Kevin De Bruyne approached Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, who is poised to leave Los Blancos at the end of the season.

The Belgian could be heard asking for Modric’s shirt as the two exchanged pleasantries.

De Bruyne was unexpectedly left out of Manchester City’s quarter-final first leg match. In fact, he sat out the entire game after missing the team’s pre-match warm-up.

Pep Guardiola explained why he dropped the in-form midfielder before kickoff.

Speaking to TNT Sports, he said, “Vomit.” He feels ill.”

When asked if he could play, Guardiola responded: “I’m not sure. We scheduled a meeting, and he was prepared, but when we got in the locker room, he began vomiting and feeling ill, and he said, ‘I’m not ready.’

“Of course, it’s not good news, but it is what it is – another player is going to play and they are ready to play 90 minutes and everyone is going to help.”

Guardiola would later pick out one of City’s goal scorers in his postgame interview.

“In the second-half we really showed our personality in terms of how we play,” he told TNT Sports. “Coming back from 2-1 in Manchester would have been difficult. Instead we scored two fantastic goals but defending fifteen minutes in this stadium is an eternity. 3-3, we will take it.

“I told (the players) to be more calm and to attack outside. Now I say: ‘guys it’s 45 minutes after 90 minutes’. There is a lot of football to be played.

“We are lucky that [Josko] Gvardiol is with us today. He was amazing in how he played. He’s a lovely guy and we are so happy to have him.”