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Manchester City hosted Real Madrid in the first leg of their mouth-watering semi-final duel on Tuesday night (26 April).
An open-ended contest at the Etihad ensued, with both teams doing everything in their power to hurt their opponents. The hosts, who created more goalscoring opportunities over the 90, ultimately walked out with a 4-3 win, condemning Madrid to their second-consecutive Champions League defeat.
Playing in front of their supporters, Manchester City came out all guns blazing in the first half. Courtesy of City’s ingenious wing-play and Real Madrid’s susceptible defending, Kevin De Bruyne managed to put his side ahead within 100 seconds of the match.
Nine minutes later, the scorer-turned-provider, with De Bruyne assisting Gabriel Jesus for City’s second goal of the night. The build-up to the goal was superb, but it was David Alaba’s miskick that presented Jesus with the opening.
In the 26th minute, the hosts had a chance to triple their advantage, but Riyad Mahrez’s selfish attempt at goal saw the opportunity go begging. Three minutes later, Phil Foden had a go, but his shot narrowly missed Thibaut Courtois’ far post. In the 33rd minute, Karim Benzema found the back of the net for Los Blancos, cutting City’s advantage in half and handing Madrid a lifeline.
Phil Foden restored City's two-goal cushion in the 53rd minute, but Vinicius Junior Junior reduced the arrears just a couple of minutes later. Nineteen minutes after Vinicius’ strike, Bernardo Silva made it 4-2 for the Citizens, converting superbly from the edge of the box. In the closing act of the match, Benzema found the back of the net through a well-taken penalty in the 82nd minute.
The Premier League champions were the better team on the night and should have won by a healthier margin. With a slender one-goal advantage, they travel to the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday (4 April) to keep their hopes of their maiden Champions League triumph intact.
Here are three Man City players who helped them beat Madrid, and two who kept them from winning by a bigger margin:
Performed: Gabriel Jesus
Following his four-goal haul against Watford last weekend, Pep Guardiola had no option but to give Gabriel Jesus a chance against Real Madrid.
His bravery paid off handsomely in the end, with the Brazilian producing a gem of a performance in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
In the 11th minute, Jesus intercepted the ball from David Alaba inside the box and cleverly lashed it past Courtois. The Belgian could not do anything to prevent the Brazilian’s snapshot from going in.
Fueled by his early goal, Jesus continued to torment Madrid’s back line, especially their centre-back Eder Militao. He turned his compatriot inside out time and again, rarely breaking a sweat doing it.
The 25-year-old also played a key pass, completed both his dribbles and won four ground duels.
A pleasantly eventful night for the Manchester City No. 9.
Underperformed: Fernandinho
Fernandinho replaced an injured John Stones in the 36th minute and slotted in at right-back.
Considering the 36-year-old provided an assist against Madrid, it does not seem fair to call him an underperformer.
However, given his experience, we believe he should have done a considerably better job at resisting Los Merengues’ second goal of the night.
In the 55th minute, Vinicius Junior dummied his countryman to open up acres of space on the left. He continued his run, beating Manchester City defenders for pace and applied the finishing touch.
The dummy, of course, was superb, but considering Vincius’ penchant for trickery, Fernandinho should have found a way to deal with it.
The 36-year-old replaced an injured John Stones in the 36th minute and slotted in at right-back.
Performed: Bernardo Silva
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was at his immaculate best on Tuesday night. He dictated the tempo, carried the ball forward, and popped up in dangerous areas more often than not.
Almost every impressive piece of play flowed through him, which serves as a testament to his involvement against the Whites. To top it off, he scored a screamer in the 74th minute to put his side 4-2 up.
The midfielder dribbled his way into the box from the left-inside channel and caught Dani Carvajal on his heels. Instead of going deeper inside the opposition area, like Carvajal had anticipated, he went for Courtois’ goal, beating him at his near post.
The Portuguese ace also played two key passes, won seven ground duels and attempted five tackles.
A solid outing by one of the best in the business.
Underperformed: Aymeric Laporte
While his partner Ruben Dias superbly dealt with the threat of Real Madrid attackers, Aymeric Laporte did not quite make the same impact.
He was good in bits and pieces but seemed to have a hard time tracking Karim Benzema’s movement. The former Athletic Bilbao man also arrived late for Vinicius Junior's goal, failing to provide the support Ederson needed at the time.
Additionally, Laporte conceded a penalty in the 80th minute, handing the visitors a lifeline. He failed to position his body appropriately, leading to his arm obstructing the ball. A penalty was awarded, which Benzema took superbly to cut City’s advantage down to a solitary goal.
The Spaniard made a rare dash into the opposition penalty box in 67th minute. Zinchenko engineered a clever, low cross into the box for the defender, but he could only direct his effort straight at Thibaut Courtois.
Apart from conceding a penalty and missing a big chance, Laporte lost possession seven times, was beaten in two duels and misplaced two long balls.
Performed: Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City maestro Kevin De Bruyne dropped another masterclass in midfield play on Tuesday night. Going up against the formidable duo of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, the Belgian not only held his ground but also outshone them.
Primarily operating on the right-flank, De Bruyne scored one goal and set up another, tormenting the visitors all night long.
De Bruyne opened the scoring for City within two minutes of play, turning in Riyad Mahrez’s superb cross from the right flank. Nine minutes later, he drilled in a low cross for Gabriel Jesus inside the Real Madrid box. David Alaba failed to clear the ball out of the area, allowing the Brazilian forward to find the back of the net.
The star midfielder also completed 45 passes with 88.2 percent accuracy, played three key passes, created one big chance, and completed two dribbles.
