Clicky
Sports, Football

Irresistible Man City miss golden chance to vanquish Real Madrid


Published : 27 Apr 2022 08:46 PM

Spain’s champions-elect were made to look like chumps. The all-time kings of Europe reduced to the role of fools. Real Madrid endured a chastening night at the hands of Manchester City, when their very place in history was rocked to the core. Yet they head to the Bernabeu next week with everything to play for.

This Champions League semi-final should have been over after half an hour, with Real humbled and humiliated by City’s sheer superiority. But Pep Guardiola’s side head to Spain with the slenderest 4-3 advantage after a night when it was impossible to shake the sense that an opportunity had been missed.

It was notable that the Catalan needed to remind his players after this thrilling, breathless and reckless clash that they had won on the night. It felt like he was trying to convince himself.

“Football is football, the result is the result, but how we performed is exceptional,” said Guardiola. “Nobody can say the performance was not good. I want to convince my players that we won the game and lift their heads up.”

City were irresistible at times. They scored four and could have comfortably doubled that figure.

Even after Karim Benzema’s Panenka penalty late completed the scoring, the home side had at least two more glorious chances to further extend their lead. It was that kind of night, with Real helpless to stop City when they were in full flow.

But Carlo Ancelotti’s side do not know when they are beaten. That weight of history means there is never a lost cause – and with players like Benzema, Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior, they always have a chance.

“If Real have three chances, they will score five goals,” said one Spanish journalist before kick-off. And while that was not the case, it was remarkable how they made the most of the moments when they came their way.

Benzema’s ageless brilliance was on show again after disposing of Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the previous two rounds. At the Etihad, he had three shots and two goals, with the other effort blocked.

City had done well early on to force him to do much of his work in deep areas to keep him away from the danger zone. In reality, his composure on the ball only helped to settle Real at the point when the City storm was at its most ferocious.

His first goal served notice to City of the danger of playing with too much abandon, halving the deficit after Kevin de Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus had fired the home side into a 2-0 lead inside 11 minutes. It instilled an uncertainty in Guardiola’s rearguard that remained throughout and is sure live on into next week’s second leg.

Ancelotti, meanwhile, warned City they might have missed a golden chance to secure their place in a second successive final.

“It is a defeat that leaves us alive in the second leg,” he said. “We have to be better in our defensive aspect, but I believe we are able to create problems for them also.

“In the second game I think if we defend better, we will win - but if we defend like today, we will be out of the competition.”

Another classic lies in wait.