Nine minutes have passed and we are no closer to knowing which of the amazing teams will be in Istanbul on June 10.
This modern rivalry will be decided next week in Manchester and while the English champions believe they can complete the job, it remains impossible to call. At least this time for the City, there was no damage in the rue’s time collapse.
City midfielder Rodri let the cat out of the bag in the pre-game press conference, admitting that the three goals City conceded to City after 90 minutes this time last year had sparked a sense of revenge, with the Spaniard which says “You should kill if you can.”
His compatriot and coach Pep Guardiola was more guarded in his pre-game press conference, saying that City “played very good football” and that “we are not here for revenge, one more chance .
“One day we will win this,” he continued. “We came here this season to do it. It didn’t happen last year because we played Real in this competition.”
Camavinga inspired Madrid to life
Guardiola arrived at the Bernabeu having won here only once since leaving Barcelona and lost his previous two Champions League matches against rival figure Carlo Ancelotti – once in 2014 with Bayern Munich and again last season.
With a fifth Premier League title in six years approaching and Erling Haaland apparently the final piece of the puzzle, City came to the top of their game and dictated much of the game against the reigning champions.
Haaland, the tournament’s top scorer this season with 12 goals, was largely neutralized here though; Germany defender Antonio Rüdiger helped close the door and his partner in the middle, David Alaba, produced the best singular defensive chance with a Norwegian block that was perfectly timed and executed.
“Haaland can’t do anything alone,” Rüdiger told Amazon after the game. “We had to control him – that made things easier for us.”
With Real Madrid absorbing City’s attacks from a relatively deep position and City’s rearguard keeping Karim Benzema at bay, chances were frequent on the break for the hosts and Eduardo Camavinga took the lead. in the game.
The Frenchman’s dangerous one-two with Luka Modric started moving deep inside his own half. Camavinga left Bernardo Silva in his wake with a blistering run before picking out Vinicius Jr, whose stunning first-time shot flew wide.
Town got parity through De Bruyne
With three-quarters of the game gone and Madrid pushing for a narrow victory, City were rewarded for striking a balance between securing against 2-0 but gambling at 1-1.
The bet paid off when Camavinga was forced into a dangerous pass that never materialized. With Real suddenly exposed on the back foot, City worked the ball back to De Bruyne, whose shot from distance was as beautiful as the goal that preceded it.
It was a fitting equalizer for City, whose traveling supporters chanted the name of their talismanic Belgian into the night. Part II is just eight days away and anything can happen — just don’t mention the ‘R’ word.
