Going into the second leg of the semi-final at the Etihad, both Man City and Real Madrid fielded their strongest lineups. For Man City, top players like John Stones, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland started.
The visitors Real Madrid also fielded their best players at the moment with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Fede Valverde, Rodrygo, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior. The only strange thing was that coach Carlo Ancelotti surprisingly left Antonio Rudiger - who "pocketed" Haaland in the first leg - on the bench.
With home advantage, Man City did not hide their intention to take on Real Madrid. Right after the opening whistle, The Citizens launched a stormy attack. Man City did not take the "Champions League king" seriously, as they made Los Blancos look like a mid-level team when they had to huddle together in defense.
Courtois made a brilliant save from Haaland's header
In the 12th minute, the first good chance came to Man City. Receiving a pass from Grealish, Haaland headed from close range but the brilliance of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved the goal for Real Madrid. In the first 15 minutes, Man City had 80% of the ball and they almost only played in the opponent's final third.
In the 21st minute, Courtois once again became the hero of Real Madrid with a diving save using his fingertips after Haaland's dangerous header. However, no matter how good the Belgian goalkeeper is, he was helpless in the situation 2 minutes later.
Silva's header made it 2-0
Receiving a through ball from De Bruyne, Silva, unmarked in the penalty area, decisively kicked the ball into the near corner of Real Madrid's net to open the scoring. A completely worthy reward for the home team's tireless efforts.
Burning with enthusiasm after the equalizer, Man City continued to put great pressure on Real Madrid's goal. The best chance for Los Blancos came in the 37th minute when Kroos' long-range shot hit the crossbar. Just 3 minutes after this situation, the away team had to pick the ball out of the net for the second time.
Militao's own goal
Gundogan's shot from inside the box hit Eder Militao's foot and bounced off, and Silva, unmarked, found the perfect position to head the ball into the Real Madrid net, completing his double. In summary, the first half was a match of absolute power for Man City and their two goals were a true reflection of what happened on the pitch.
In the second half, Real Madrid tried to push up their formation to find a goal. In the 51st minute, center-back David Alaba took a beautiful free kick that forced Ederson to dive to save the goal. In the 73rd minute, Man City had a golden opportunity to increase the score to 3-0 when Haaland faced Courtois. However, the Norwegian striker's kick could not beat Real Madrid's "goalkeeper".
Alvarez sinks the visitors
However, Haaland had nothing to be sad about because 3 minutes later, his team shook Real Madrid's net for the third time. From a free kick from the left wing by De Bruyne, center-back Manuel Akanji ran to head the ball and it hit Militao's foot and went into the net.
At this point, Real Madrid almost gave up. In the first minute of extra time, substitute striker Julian Alvarez completed a sublime day for Man City with a goal that sealed a resounding 4-0 victory. Thus, after 2 matches, Man City defeated Real Madrid with a total score of 5-1 to play in the Champions League final. Their opponent will be Inter Milan.
Trong An (synthesis)
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