Man City 4-3 Real Madrid in Champions League thriller

Football

Published: 27 Apr. 2022, 15:14

Man City 4-3 Real Madrid in Champions League thriller

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, left, celebrates with teammate Phil Foden after scoring the opening goal during a UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg match against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Tuesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

MANCHESTER — Manchester City beat Real Madrid 4-3 in a thrilling first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals at Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Tuesday, edging out the Spaniards in a nail-biting display that proved exactly why these are two of the best clubs in Europe.

But the festival of football the match eventually became nearly didn’t happen. Early in the game it looked more likely to turn into a one-sided rout, fun for half the fans but nothing like the spectacle the Etihad was eventually treated to.

City were up 2-0 by the 12th minute — Kevin De Bruyne in the second and Gabriel Jesus in the 11th — and Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti’s face on the sidelines clearly showed the former Everton boss feared another drubbing.

But it didn’t happen. Karim Benzema pulled one back for Madrid in the 33rd minute to finish the half at 2-1. When Phil Foden scored No. 3 for City in the 53rd minute, Vini Jr. responded two minutes later to narrow the gap once again.

City pulled away again, this time from the feet of Bernardo Silva in the 74th minute, but the two-goal lead didn’t last for 10 minutes. The final goal of the game to take the score to 4-3 came from Benzema, a beautifully executed penalty after City’s Aymeric Laporte caught the ball with his hand in the box.

Ten minutes later the whistle blew, calling time on 90 minutes of hair-raising action. City walked away one step closer to the Champions League trophy, but the final score didn’t really seem to disappoint anybody on the pitch. Pep Guardiola and Ancelotti looked equally happy after putting on a show the likes of which the Champions League very rarely sees.

“It was a fantastic game for both sides,” Pep said after the match. “All we can do is perform as we perform. The quality of Real Madrid is such they can punish you. What we have done with the ball and without the ball, creating chances and chances and chances I can't ask anything else.”

Ancelotti has a simpler message: “I am a supporter of football of course, and this was a fantastic game.”

The seven goals see Tuesday’s match tie the record for the highest scoring semifinal ever — Ajax 5-2 Bayern Munich in 1995 and Liverpool 5-2 Roma in 2018 — and make it the first semifinal ever where the losing side has scored at least three.

City will head to Madrid for the second leg next Wednesday, with victory still far from a sure thing. Madrid at the Bernabeu should never be underestimated, especially when you head there with just a one goal lead.

On the other side of the bracket, Liverpool and Villarreal will start their semifinal in Liverpool on Wednesday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]