Real Madrid sealed a place in the finals of UEFA Champions League as they beat Manchester City 1-0 (aggregate 1-0) in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to a deflection off Fernando.
With this win, Real Madrid will face their crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid in the Finals at San Siro on May 28. Real Madrid had the upper hand throughout the second leg as Manchester City players were clueless about things that are going on around them.
Dani Carvajal, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric had a great match for Los Blancos while the likes of Kevin du Bruyne, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero failed to step up for the Cityzens.
Let us take a look at how the players performed in the match.
Real Madrid:
Keylor Navas 7
The Costa Rican goalkeeper was hardly tested by the Manchester City attack but was at his best when he had some rare task. In the last few minutes of the match, he came out of his line to deny a City attack.
Dani Carvajal 8
Carvajal had a great game on both defensive and attacking fronts. He linked up with Gareth Bale very well and provided the final pass to Gareth Bale for the only goal of the match. He also made sure that Kevin du Bruyne had a quiet night yesterday.
Pepe 7
The Portuguese international hardly put a foot wrong in the 90 minutes as he along with Sergio Ramos made sure that they had Sergio Aguero in their back pocket.
Sergio Ramos 7.5
Sergio Ramos was rock solid in the defence as he kept Sergio Aguero at bay. He almost got his name on the scoresheet but his second half goal was ruled offside.
Marcelo 7
The match was a rare occasion when Marcelo stayed at the back on most occasions rather than moving forward. He did well to keep Jesus Navas away from the game and whenever he went forward, he always posed a threat.
Toni Kroos 7
The German international was keep on testing the Manchester City backline with some incredible touches forward and with his inch-perfect crosses. He almost had an assist bu Gareth Bale’s header from a corner hit the woodwork.
Luka Modric 9
Luka Modric was incredible throughout the 88 minutes he was on the pitch. The Croatian midfielder dictated the play from the midfield and made sure that Fernando and Fernandinho were kept out of the game with some brilliant passes.
Isco 7.5
Isco got a rare start and repaid the trust his manager had on him. His work rate was brilliant and was always threatening the Manchester City defence with his accurate passes.
Cristiano Ronaldo 6
The Portuguese star came into the starting line-up after missing the first leg due to injury and was not 100% fit for last night’s game. He had a very poor match by his standards.
Gareth Bale 9
The Welshman once again proves why Real Madrid paid him a huge price. He was easily the Man of the Match in last night’s game. His shot in the 20th minute was deflected into the goal by Fernando and almost had his name on the scoresheet in the second half but was denied by the woodwork. He kept on posing a huge threat to the Manchester City defence who failed to cope up with his pace.
Jese 6
Jese was asked to start ahead of Lucas Vasquez in the absence of Karim Benzema and the Spanish youngster had a decent game. He was very good off the ball and opened up a lot of spaces.
Substitutes:
Lucas Vasquez 6
After coming on for Jese, Vasquez made sure that he kept the momentum going and contributed a lot in the defence.
James Rodriguez 5
After coming on for Isco, the Colombian star failed to prove his manager wrong for benching him as he missed an easy chance in the dying minutes that could have sealed the game.
Mateo Kovacic N/A
Kovacic was hardly able to touch the ball in the limited time he got on the field.
Manchester City Player Ratings
Joe Hart 6.5
The England International couldn’t have stopped the only goal of the match but he was the best Manchester City player on the pitch as he made sure that he kept his side in the tie without conceding more goals.
Bacary Sagna 5.5
Sagna hardly linked up with Jesus Navas in the attack and in the defence, he was struggling to cope up with the pace of Real Madrid’s frontline.
Nicholas Otamendi 5
He was allowing too many Real Madrid players go past him as he was playing for the offside traps. He had no answers for Modric’s passes that came his way and rarely posed a threat in the air.
Vincent Kompany N/A
He was substituted inside the first quarter and had less time to make an impact.
Gael Clichy 4
The Frenchman had a terrible night as Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale beat pipped him for pace on several occasions. He rarely went forward when his team were searching for an away goal.
Fernando 4.5
Fernando failed to create the impact which he had in the first leg as he had a nightmare on the left side. He also deflected in the only goal of the match and that sums up his entire match last night.
Fernandinho 5
After Joe Hart, he was the best City player on the pitch as he made sure that he contributed both offensively and defensively but didn't have anyone for support.
Jesus Navas 4.5
Navas did nothing going forward and helping his team in the defence against Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Yaya Toure 3
After coming back from an injury, Yaya Toure was just a liability on the field last night. He failed to link up between attack and defence as he was just running on the field just like a headless chicken.
Kevin du Bruyne 3.5
The Belgian midfielder didn't have much of an impact in the second leg as he was giving competition to Yaya Toure for the worst player on the pitch.He offered his team nothing as throughout the match.
Sergio Aguero 4
Just like the first leg, the Argentine striker was kept quiet by Sergio Ramos and Pepe. He almost took Manchester City to the finals with a shot that just went over the crossbar seconds before the full-time whistle.
Substitutes:
Eliaquim Mangala 3.5
Mangala came into the match early on as a replacement for Vincent Kompany and had a terrible game just like his fellow teammates. He was beaten in the air by Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo on most occasions.
Raheem Sterling 5
Sterling looked threatening on the left but couldn’t make most of it as he was unable to pick the final ball.
Iheanacho N/A
Iheanacho was hardly able to create an impact in the limited time he got on the field.
