- Kevin de Bruyne scored a second-half goal to rescue a draw at the Bernabeu.
- Real Madrid scored from a wonderful Vinicius shot.
- City host the Spanish champions at the Etihad next week for the second leg.
Manchester City came from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu, denying Real Madrid a precious edge in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.
The defending champions’ counter-attack performance in the first half seemed to pay off as they withstood a lot of pressure before getting on the board with a goal from Vinicius Junior.
However, Los Blancos were punished back in the second half by a similarly beautiful strike from Kevin De Bruyne, setting up an exciting return match at the Etihad.
Manchester City’s bright start
Madrid were content to let Man City dribble the ball around in the final third while suppressing their opponents’ creativity in the opening exchanges, which was evidently frustrating the home crowd.
Though De Bruyne’s eighth-minute strike came in at a fair height for his Belgian teammate to paw the ball away, Thibaut Courtois was still required to make a few saves.
The 14th minute saw Rodri attempt another long-range shot, but Courtois had to dive to his right to turn the ferocious effort behind for a corner as Erling Braut Haaland was well-managed and received minimal assistance.
Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring. |PHOTO: Sky Sports|
However, there was little that Dias or any other member of the sky blue team could have done to stop a thunderous Vinicius goal that came off in the 36th minute. Eduardo Camavinga had cleverly linked up with Luka Modric before sprinting upfield and laying off the Brazilian, who then let loose a beautiful strike into the top corner from 25 yards.
The second half
Early in the second half, Pep Guardiola’s team did a lot more defending than attacking.
The pressure from Real did not seem to bother the Citizens too much, though; they provided Ederson with enough cover and held off a few feeble attempts at handball penalties, although not appearing likely to pose a threat to Courtois at the other end.
Kevin de Bruyne scored to level the tie. |PHOTO: Manchester City|
Ilkay Gundogan held the ball up superbly on the edge of the box and set up De Bruyne to slam home a rocket of a goal into the bottom corner with 67 minutes remaining, canceling out one team’s dominance, just as it did in the first half.
Man City started to control the game after a wise Ederson stopped a Benzema header in the 78th minute.
Man City started to control play again as the game neared its dying minutes, save for one astute Ederson save from a Benzema header in the 78th minute. Courtois, however, had nothing to do because of a masterful display of organization.
In the final minute, replacement Aurelien Tchouameni had a chance to put Ederson to the test with another potent long-range shot, but City would leave the Spanish capital pleased with their evening’s work.
Real Madrid hosts Getafe on Saturday in a La Liga matchup prior to Wednesday’s winner-takes-all match in Manchester, while Man City travels to Everton on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login