Manchester, United Kingdom, April 26, 2022 (AFP) – Manchester City advanced in the Champions League semi-final by beating Real Madrid 4-3 in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, Tuesday.
The goals of the English team were scored by Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, while Karim Benzema (2x) and Vinicius Junior scored for the Spaniards.
Thanks to another decisive performance by the attacking duo, Real Madrid go into the second leg with more hopes of returning to the final.
City opened the scoring after only two minutes from De Bruyne, who took advantage of Riyad Murheez’s cross and headed in a header.
At 11, the English team expanded with Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian, who scored four goals at the weekend against Watford in the Premier League, has been a constant problem for the hosts’ defense.
The second goal was a huge blow to Real Madrid, who couldn’t play with City’s high pressure and always ended up escorting the ball. Only when Luka Modric and Benzema entered the match did the Spanish team begin to advance even more.
In the 30th minute, after stealing from the Croatian, Ferland Mendy sent a cross in the area to wait for Benzema and take first place in goalkeeper Ederson’s corner.
The goal encouraged Real Madrid, who began to become more powerful in individual duels and in controlling access with more danger.
In the team’s best moment in the first half, Rodrygo almost equalized with a shot that Ederson sent to a corner.
When the break returned, City increased its intensity and in the four minutes almost scored the third goal in a step from Mahrez, who dribbled past Eder Militao and finished off the post. On the rebound, Foden kicked and saved Carvajal over the line.
Soon, the English striker managed to score with a header, taking advantage of a cross pass from Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho.
Soon, in a great move, Vinicius Jr. started on the left, invaded the area and touched the goalkeeper’s exit to go down.
But when Real Madrid showed signs of trying to strike back, another cold shower.
When the Spanish team’s defense stopped thinking the referee was going to make a mistake, Bernardo Silva continued to play on the field and fired a superb shot from Courtois’s right corner.
Once again, the Merengue team struggled again in the game. But when City appeared to be in control of the match, the referee awarded a penalty inside the Aymeric Laporte area. Benzema went to shoot the ball and hit Bkavdinha to defeat Ederson.
The Frenchman reached the top of the Champions League today with 14 goals, surpassing 13 of the Polish Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, who has already been eliminated from the tournament.
The Real Madrid captain returned to shine when the team needed him most, and despite the defeat, the one-goal difference leaves the confrontation open for the second leg.
“A loss is not good at all, but we are excited about the Champions League and most importantly, we never give up,” Benzema said after the match.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola commented: “We could have done a better result, but we have to play well in both games. We played very well today and coming back will be a good test of the team’s character.”
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