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It will be smoky at Etihad when it will be Manchester City vs Real Madrid!
The first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City ended in a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, May 9th.
The English Premier League leaders made their trip to the Spanish capital in a bid to face off against European giants Real Madrid, a bloody football battle that saw the two football giants square in ability.
The match kicked off at a high pace, with the visitors showing great dominance. However, Real Madrid, through a stunning strike from their star Vinicius Junior, who received a well-set cross from Eduardo Camavinga in the 36th minute, saw the hosts take an early lead.
A rematch of last season’s dramatic last four had begun to see revenge-seeking Manchester City trail for another time. Luckily, in the 67th minute, Rodri crucially intercepted a pass from Camavinga deep inside Madrid’s half, Ilkay Gundogan laid the ball off to De Bruyne, and the Belgian was allowed the space to line up a perfectly struck drive past Thibaut Courtois and pull City level.
The goal from Kevin Debruyne left Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelloti furious with the fourth official, who he claimed that the ball had gone out of play before City’s Bernardo Silva hooked it back into the field. The bitter exchange and complaints resulted in the Los Blancos boss receiving a yellow card.
Speaking on beIN Sports, the former Arsenal manager and now FIFA’s chief of global football development Arsene Wenger suggested that, if it were possible, UEFA should have checked if the ball crossed the line.
The VAR should normally check if a goal is regular or not. In a situation like that they have to intervene. They did not go far enough back to check if the ball was out or not, or they had not the potential to check if the ball was out or not. I think I would go for the second because normally the VAR cannot check on the sideline, only on the baseline, the goal-line.”
Wenger said.
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Real Madrid has an added advantage
Madrid still had another chance to get the advantage for the second leg but Ederson produced a one-handed stop to keep out a far-post header from Benzema as Man City extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 21 games.
Some of the key post-match quotes from the 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Man City midfielder Rodri “Very tough always when you come here. The lads were incredible, the effort was there. Sometimes it’s difficult against this team because they have a lot of quality. I think the first 25-30 minutes we controlled them so well the game and the first chance they have they scored a goal. We kept in the game with our philosophy, we keep playing even though it is difficult. The key was shooting from the area in front. I tried a few times and then Kevin with the goal.”
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric “I think we finished the game well, the result is still open, we played a good game, I think they didn’t create much, we had more chances and it’s a pity about their goal. I don’t think anyone will feel stronger, it’s an open result, we knew it wasn’t going to end here, and the tie is 50-50.”
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praises his team’s handling of the City attack and in particular Haaland.
“Defensively we were good. (Antonio) Rudiger against (Erling) Haaland did really well. The midfield covered well the position in front of the defense. We are satisfied. Sometimes the result doesn’t give you credit but the performance was really good.”
Read: Is Vinicius the best player in the world right now?
Man City boss Pep Guardiola “When we were better, they scored. When they were better, we scored. Tight game, the Bernabeu semi-final always is difficult. 1-1, a final next Wednesday at home with our people. They (Madrid) are so demanding. They are so good, the experience, quality. Now they travel to Manchester and we are going to see what we can do better. When you play these types of games it’s like a playoff. The second you learn a lot from the first and hopefully we can learn and attack and defend better.”
The second leg will be held at the Etihad Stadium in the U.K. where Manchester City will be hosting Real Madrid.
