Manchester City drew 3-3 at Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Bernardo Silva was the first to set off the goal detonator, who caught Andrije Lunin’s free kick already in the second minute. The winner of the 2021/2022 millionaire competition showed mental strength when he used two spot-kicks between the 12th and 14th minutes to turn the game around. The Bílý ballet brought a promising state into the second half, but the reigning cup holder dominated and turned the score in their favor again with exhibition hits. However, Federico Valverde also managed to respond in a similar way, thereby averting the loss of coach Carlo Ancelotti, who coached his 200th game in the competition.
The renowned European giants already had a history with each other, having met twice in the semi-finals in the last two years. The year before last, after a fairytale comeback, the Bílý ballet was happy about the progress, but last year Citizens celebrated with an overview. In addition, both teams struggled this season, Los Blancos fell only twice and the light blue team went on a streak of 25 matches in a row without defeat. However, due to nausea, Kevin De Bruyne did not feature in the starting line-up of the guests.
The brisk start of the match was started in the second minute by Silva, who perfectly caught the goalkeeper Lunin by surprise with a free kick shot at the near post. Real responded with a brace of goals in the 12th minute, thanks to Rubén Dias’s impressive run, taking on Eduardo Camavinga’s mid-range attempt, and Rodrygo immediately ended his escape with a smart shot, which he also brushed against one of the Citizens defenders. Offensive football was also played after that, but there was no further goal expression until the half-time break.
In the 53rd minute, Jude Bellingham had a great chance with his movement, but he shot wide of the post. On the other side, Lunin was brilliant as he put a stop to Silva’s attempt, which headed into the top left corner of the goal. A much more convincing shot to the same spot was curled in by Phil Foden in the 66th minute to equalize. In the next five minutes Joško Guardiol followed him up, beating the helpless Lunin with a cross from outside the box. This time, however, there was a reaction, when Valverde added the home team’s third goal from a volley, whose center was found by Vinícius Júnior.
Manchester City thus played a very important draw in the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu. It will take place in the week of April 17 at the Etihad Stadium.
