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Real Madrid traveled to Manchester City for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash on Tuesday night (26 April). In front of a roaring Etihad Stadium crowd, the 13-time European champions were mostly outskilled, outgunned, and outplayed by a spirited home team.
Yet, thanks to a Karim Benzema brace and a Vinicius Junior goal, they succumbed to a respectable and probably salvageable 4-3 defeat in Manchester.
City found themselves a goal up inside the opening couple of minutes, with Riyad Mahrez setting up Kevin De Bruyne’s header with an inch-perfect cross. Nine minutes later, Gabriel Jesus doubled the hosts’ tally, thanks to David Alaba’s atrocious defending. Benzema pulled one back for the visitors in the 33rd minute, scoring first time from a Ferland Mendy cross.
Eight minutes into the second half, Fernandinho floated a cross for Phil Foden inside the Madrid box. Unchallenged, the Englishman headed the ball home from point blank range. Los Merengues responded with a solo Vinicius goal just a couple of minutes later to set up a grand-stand finale.
Dani Carvajal’s susceptible defending allowed Bernardo Silva to restore Manchester City’s two-goal cushion in the 74th minute, but the visitors refused to give in. They piled on the pressure and ultimately scored their third in the 82nd minute, with Benzema bagging his brace from the penalty spot.
With only a solitary goal separating the two teams, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have every right to be optimistic for next Wednesday's (4 May) return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Here are two players who helped them get a lifeline and three who could have done better to ensure a more comfortable result:
Underperformed: Eder Militao
Real Madrid centre-back Eder Militao was suspended for the Champions League quarter-final second-leg against Chelsea. David Alaba and Nacho (later Dani Carvajal) played at the back and looked vulnerable against the Blues’ pace.
With the Brazilian returning to the fold, Madrid were expected to fare better against City. Unfortunately, that was not the case at the Etihad Stadium.
Militao looked uncomfortable from the first minute against the English champions and made a bucketload of silly mistakes. He was regularly beaten by Gabriel Jesus, could not impose himself in ground duels, and lacked composure in distribution.
On Tuesday night, Militao lost four ground duels, ceded possession 16 times, and misplaced 26.8 percent of his passes.
Not a night to remember for Madrid’s first-choice centre-back.
Performed: Vinicius Junior
Karim Benzema once again stole the headlines with his brace on Tuesday night, but Vinicius Junior’s contribution cannot be overlooked.
The 21-year-old quick-footed Brazilian was marked heavily by Pep Guardiola’s team, yet he somehow found a way past their barricade, scoring an outrageous goal.
Two minutes after Manchester City’s third goal, Vinicius evaded Fernandinho’s press with a neat dummy and started making strides towards Ederson’s goal. He turned on the afterburner to leave every City chaser in the dust before coolly slotting his finish past Ederson.
The goal was reminiscent of Gareth Bale’s Copa del Rey-winning strike against Barcelona in the 2013-14 season.
The youngster also played two key passes, completed three dribbles, and won three duels.
Underperformed: David Alaba
David Alaba passed a last-minute fitness test to get into Real Madrid's starting XI against Manchester City. While it proved his commitment to the crest, the rushed return from injury did him no favors on the pitch.
Apart from winning a couple of aerial duels, performing two clearances, and an interception, the Austrian did not do anything of note for the Whites.
He instead gifted Man City their second goal of the night in the 11th minute.
Kevin De Bruyne put in a speculative low-cross inside the box for Gabriel Jesus. The ball fell directly to Alaba, who was in a great position to clear the ball away.
The former Bayern Munich man astonishingly failed to wrap his foot around it, allowing Jesus to intercept and beat Thibaut Courtois from close range.
The player, still not 100 percent fit, was replaced at half-time by Nacho.
Performed: Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema, arguably the most in-form player on the planet at present, dropped another Champions League masterclass on Tuesday night.
The Frenchman was a vocal leader on the pitch, getting involved in the build-up and scoring two goals to keep his team alive in the tie.
Having scored seven goals in his last three Champions League matches, Benzema was beaming with confidence heading into the clash against Manchester City.
He scored his opener in the 33nd minute, finishing first time from a decent Ferland Mendy cross. Under pressure from Oleksandr Zinchenko, the Real Madrid No. 9 did superbly to direct his shot past City keeper Ederson.
His second goal came in the 82nd minute, from a penalty. Following Aymeric Laporte’s handball, the referee had no option but to point to the spot.
Benzema, who missed two penalties against Osasuna in La Liga last weekend, stepped up and dispatched an inch-perfect Panenka chip to give Los Blancos a lifeline.
The skipper also played three key passes, completed 23 passes with 88.5 percent accuracy, and completed two dribbles.
Underperformed: Toni Kroos
Since joining from Bayern Munich in 2014, Toni Kroos has been ever-present in the Real Madrid midfield.
He has dropped countless masterclasses against world-class teams, dictated tempo at will, and helped the Whites to three consecutive Champions League titles between 2015-18.
Lately, the German has struggled to live up to his sky-high levels, often cracking under pressure from quality opponents.
Last night, the 2014 World Cup winner produced another disappointing performance, failing to keep up with City’s pace and dynamism.
He only played one key pass, lost possession seven times, and and came up second-best in three duels. The numbers do not exactly show him in a bad light, but his signature calmness was missing, especially in the first half.
In Casemiro’s absence, the central midfielder was deployed in a deeper role, which did him no favors.
Seeing the way he was struggling, Carlo Ancelotti probably should have subbed him for Eduardo Camavinga early in the second half. Kroos ultimately made way for Dani Ceballos in the 71st minute.
