Manchester City-Real Madrid: the Madrilenians eliminate the defending champion on penalties and advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League
On a royal road. The clash of these quarter-finals, between the last two winners of the Champions League, was won on penalties by Real Madrid on the Manchester City pitch (1-1, 4-3 on the tabs), Wednesday 17 April, after a crazy draw (3-3) during the first leg. Dominated, but with a chilling realism, the Merengues eliminate the title holder and take a further step towards a new final and a possible “decimoquinta”, their fifteenth triumph in C1. They will face Bayern Munich in the semi-final, who defeated Arsenal in the other match of the evening (1-0, 2-2 in the first leg).
This double confrontation had produced the final winner of the competition during the last two editions, each time in the semi-finals: Real Madrid had overthrown the Cityzens in 2021-2022 (3-4, 3-1), then Pep’s men Guardiola took revenge last year (1-1, 0-4). Far from the disaster experienced at the Etihad Stadium for their last visit (0-4), the White House players wore their black tunics on Wednesday evening, to bury the double hopes of the Blaugrana players Pep Guardiola.
The Madrilenians stood together against the stifling domination of the Skyblues, whose grip only loosened with the breakthroughs of Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian, often sent to the pipebreaker alone in front, but always technically correct, served Rodrygo to attack from the start (12th).
Constantly under water after the opening score (36% possession), Carlo Ancelotti’s men delayed the deadline for a long time thanks to unfailing defensive rigor and an Andreï Lounine of great evenings (10 saves during the match , two during the penalty shootout).
The equalizer finally came from Kevin De Bruyne, after a poorly cleared cross by Antonio Rüdiger (76th). In extra time, the Cityzens continued their enterprise of harassing the Madrid rearguard (34 shots and 18 corners over the 120 minutes). The Merengues, in apnea from start to finish, believed in the deliverance on a recovery from Antonio Rüdiger in the 105th minute, but the attacker missed the target from close range.
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