The reigning UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid were no match for Manchester City who were on fire at the Etihad Stadium in the second leg of the UCL semi-finals on Wednesday night.
Real Madrid and Manchester City went into the second leg of the tie on almost a clean slate after playing 1-1 in the first leg of the tie at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Unfortunately for coach Carlo Ancelotti, who went into the game with his regular 4-3-3 formation, Pep Guardiola who went into the game with a 3-2-4-1 formation had a plan the Italian tactician could not decipher.
Hence, from the beginning of the game, Manchester City were in full control but it wasn’t until the 23rd minute that the hosts opened the scoring via Bernardo Silva.
Silva put Guardiola’s men 2-1 up on aggregate with a brilliant finish. Walker and Stones worked it patiently on the right-hand side before De Bruyne passed the ball to Silva. The Portugal international took a touch before smashing a left-footed effort past Courtois.
In the 37th minute, Silva doubled Manchester City’s lead after nodding in a deflected shot to end the first half 3-1 on aggregate.
In the second half, Real Madrid got more involved in the game but still couldn’t have enough access to the ball. Hence, City still enjoyed relative control of the last 45 minutes.
While Ancelotti’s men were hoping for a comeback, the team’s defender Militao deflected Akanji’s header into his own net to make the game more difficult for his side.
In the 89th minute, coach Guardiola took off Erling Haaland whose three attempts on goal were saved by Courtois, and replaced him with Brazilian youngster Álvarez.
In less than three minutes after his introduction into the game, Álvarez sealed the stunning defeat for Real Madrid thanks to an assist from a fellow substitute Phil Foden.
The Manchester City Vs Real Madrid double-header ended 5-1 on aggregate which is a perfect revenge for the outcome of last season’s Champions League semi-final clash between the two teams.
On June 10, 2023, Manchester City will try for the second time in three years to win their first Champions League title when they take on Inter Milan in Istanbul, Turkey.
