Real Madrid and Manchester City played out to an entertaining 3-3 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the quarter-final first-leg of the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
With a low free kick, Bernardo Silva gave City the lead, but Rodrygo Goes and Ruben Dias’ own goal allowed Madrid to respond forcefully and quickly.
Fede Valverde’s blistering strike gave Manchester City a draw, but their own quick-fire double in the second half through Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol stunned the record 14-time winners.
The exciting encounter took place at the Santiago Bernabeu under intense security, with Islamic State threatening to target every quarterfinal first leg.
2,000 police were reportedly going to be sent in, according to Spanish officials, but nothing happened off the field throughout the game. There was much on it, under the closed stadium roof, creating a cacophonous atmosphere.
Guardiola started Mateo Kovacic in midfield with Rodri Hernandez instead of key player Kevin De Bruyne, who had announced he was feeling under the weather just before the match.
In addition, the former Barcelona manager started Gvardiol despite a fitness issue and started Stefan Ortega in goal over the seasoned Ederson, who was just returning from a thigh injury.
Aurelien Tchouameni, a defensive midfielder, was selected by Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti to start at centre back instead of Nacho Fernandez. The Frenchman’s early, careless challenge set up City’s first goal.
After 33 seconds, Tchouameni awkwardly chopped down Jack Grealish; as a result, he was booked and will miss the second leg.
After the free kick, Silva further punished Madrid by hitting goalie Andriy Lunin at his near post with a weak shot that skidded in.
Despite getting a hand on the ball, Lunin was slow to respond and was unable to hold it out.
As he coached the 200th Champions League game in history, Ancelotti said his players lacked bravery and character after they were humiliated by City in the previous season’s semifinals. However, they shown mental toughness to swiftly alter the tide of the contest.
Madrid has a track record of accomplishing this kind of thing in the Champions League; their two goals in two minutes brought back memories of their incredible 2022 semifinal comeback against City, which was made possible by Rodrygo’s brace.
In an attempt to stop Camavinga’s long-range piledriver, Dias deflected the first goal into his own net. Vinicius Junior then played Rodrygo in, and with another deflection from Manuel Akanji, he slipped home the second.
After a neat Madrid transition, which was aided by a Vinicius backheel, the Brazilian cut wide as Los Blancos showed how potent they are on the counterattack.
More of the same in a match that was quickly being referred to as a Champions League “Clasico” after an exhilarating opening forty-five minutes.
Vinicius fired over the top and Rodri headed over for the visitors before City mounted their own comeback, extending their undefeated streak to 26 games.
With an incredible strike that arced into the top corner from the edge of the box, Foden levelled the score for his team.
With this well-placed goal, the 22-year-old England international is having his best goalscoring season in all competitions.
Five minutes later, City took the lead thanks to a goal from an unlikely source thanks to an assist from Antonio Rudiger on Erling Haaland.
Lunin had no chance against Defender Gvardiol’s fierce long-range bending attempt, which stunned the Bernabeu—but only momentarily.
With a superb volley from Vinicius’ cross, Valverde beat Ortega to square the score, setting up a thrilling second leg match on April 17.
Photo by EPA/JuanJo Martin
