Real Madrid pulled off yet another brilliant UCL comeback to reach the tournament’s final.
Real Madrid defeated Manchester City 3-1 in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie. A 6-5 win on aggregate sent the Blancos to the Paris Final as Man City were left stunned at Santiago Bernabeu.
A Champions League classic!
Man City came into the game being 4-3 ahead on aggregate. However, Pep Guardiola’s side established their dominance early on, not letting Real Madrid make any chances throughout the goalless first half.
The Blancos looked much better after the interval, but they still struggled to make serious goalscoring opportunities. Following a few half-chances from Man City, the English giants finally opened the scoring through Riyad Mahrez in the 73rd minute.
Having doubled their aggregate lead, City tried to defend their way to victory in the final ten minutes. But then came Rodrygo’s insane brace, which brought Real Madrid back into the tie at the dying stages of the game.
The Brazilian converted a Karim Benzema cutback to make it 1-1 in the 90th minute before scoring the aggregate equalizer with a fantastic header only a minute later.
Real Madrid started the extra time by storming City’s backline to find the match-winner. The Blancos completed their unbelievable comeback when Ruben Dias brought Benzema down inside City’s box.
The French star stepped up to convert the spot-kick by sending Ederson the wrong way, making it 6-5 on aggregate.
Having already replaced most of his attacking players, Guardiola struggled to inspire his team to come back into the game during the extra time.
What’s next for Real Madrid?
A fantastic week saw the Blancos win the La Liga title before reaching the Champions League final.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side will battle it out with Liverpool for the Champions League trophy on May 28.
Before that, however, Real Madrid should return to La Liga, where they will face Atletico in the Madrid derby on Sunday.
Player Ratings
Real Madrid: Courtois (8), Carvajal (7), Militao (6), Nacho (7), Mendy (7), Modric (5), Casemiro (6), Kroos (6), Valverde (7), Benzema (9), Vinicius (6).
Bench: Vallejo (6), Ceballos (6), Vazquez (6), Asensio (7), Camavinga (7), Rodrygo (9).
Manchester City: Ederson (5), Walker (7), Dias (5), Laporte (6), Cancelo (7), B. Silva (7), Rodri (6), De Bruyne (7), Mahrez (8), G. Jesus (6), Foden (6).
Bench: Sterling (6), Grealish (5), Zincehnko (7), Gundogan (5), Fernandinho (5).
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