Real Madrid Triumphs over Manchester City in Champions League Quarter-Final Thriller: Recap and Analysis

2024-04-18 05:05:00

The King of Europe defeated the reigning champion. Real Madrid suffered and had to go through extra time then penalties but eliminated holders Manchester City in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League on Wednesday (1-1, 3-4 tab). Rodrygo quickly opened the scoring (13th), the Cityzens dominated for a long time rather sterilely then ended up equalizing by Kevin De Bruyne (76th). Antonio Rüdiger scored the shot on goal which sent the Merengue into the last four against Bayern Munich. City say goodbye to their treble dreams.

The English clubs had a bad evening and the Cityzens can bite their fingers. If the first round had been open and got off to a flying start (3-3), this return match went very differently. Surprisingly cautious, the two teams initially measured each other. Net winners against the Madrilenians in the semi-final return last year (4-0), the Mancuniens still started with a psychological advantage and began to put in place their collective game. They were quickly punished.

Real turned its back

Found in the midfield axis Jude Bellingham produced a superb control and allowed Ernesto Valverde to launch Vinicius to the right of the opponent’s area. The Brazilian crossed on the ground and found his compatriot Rodrygo who scored in two stages at the far post behind a less concentrated Kyle Walker (0-1, 12th). The Madrilenians had hit hard and were able to fall back in defense.

Annoyed, the Mancunians shook themselves and the visitors spent almost the entire rest of the match in their last 30 meters. This suited them even though they went backwards and suffered a lot. Opposite, Manchester City lacked inspiration and dynamism against a very compact block. Erling Haaland placed a header on the crossbar (19th) but then disappeared, contained by an exemplary Madrid rearguard.

City lacked madness

The impeccable Andriy Lunin took over when his defenders left crumbs to the restless De Bruyne (27th and 45th) and Jack Grealish (47th). Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and the others disappointed by remaining too academic. Launched in place of Grealish (72nd), Jérémy Doku, however, finally shook it all up. The former Rennais immediately hit and sent a cross that Rüdiger could only push back to De Bruyne who equalized with a volley under the bar (1-1, 76th).

Galvanized, De Bruyne placed a left shot just above the target (78th) but also missed the target in an excellent position (80th). The Belgian playmaker had just missed the mark and the two teams were entitled to an additional 30 minutes during which Rüdiger was the only one to stand out with an off-target shot (105th). The German, like his French teammates Eduardo Camavinga and Ferland Mendy, showed flawless defensive solidarity.

If Luka Modric missed his shot on goal, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic did the same. Ederson scored his own but Rüdiger had the last word and Real Madrid brought down the trophy holders at the Etihad Stadium. He takes his revenge on last season and writes a new page in his long love story with the Champions League.

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