Thursday 26 / December / 2024
Manchester : Manchester City stormed into the finals of the UEFA Champions League after thrashing defending champions Real Madrid 4-0 in the second leg of their semifinal match at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
City has set up the title clash with Inter Milan after a 5-1 win on aggregate against the Spanish giants. The two sides had previously played out a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the first leg of the semifinal. Bernardo Silva was at his best, scoring a brace (23rd and 37th minute) in the first half of the match to put defending champions under the pump. Carlo Ancelotti's side tried to fight their way back into the match but a goal by Manuel Akanji (76th minute) and Julian Alvarez's stoppage-time (91st minute) finish only widened the margin.
City are in incredible form, having gone unbeaten for 23 games so far, winning their previous 15 clashes at their home ground. On June 10, they will be playing their second UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan, hoping to ease the pain of loss to Chelsea in the summit clash of the 2020-21 edition of the league.
The tie was delicately poised after one fantastic goal each at the Bernabeu last week, and there was excellence wherever you looked. City were attempting to reach the final for the second time in three seasons, but they faced the 14-time European champions.
The atmosphere matched the occasion and quality of teams playing. Pyrotechnics were used as the team bus arrived at the stadium. There were boos during the Champions League anthem, but loud cheers followed the aftermath as fans were desperate to see Man City take down Real Madrid.
Erling Haaland had been kept quiet in the Spanish capital by the tenacious Antonio Rudiger, but Militao's availability saw the Germany international defender slide to the bench. And the job of keeping the City attacker out was only half done.
Within 13 minutes, he would have put City ahead if Thibaut Courtois had not made an unlikely save with his body. Soon after, Haaland was denied again by the Real Madrid goalkeeper's outstretched arm. Courtois kept him out late on, but he could not keep City out for long.
Pep Guardiola's side had dominated the early proceedings of the first leg. But there were some warnings by Real Madrid to the City in the first half this time. Vinicius Junior gained space behind Kyle Walker only for the City defender to recover quickly. Toni Kroos got even closer to scoring with Madrid's solitary shot of the first 45 minutes, hitting the crossbar.
But besides these few moments of brilliance, there was not much control from Ancelott's side, who were being swamped. The second goal was a more accurate picture of the gap, with Silva nodding in after Ilkay Gundogan's attempt was blocked.
In the second half, City continued to toy with Madrid, who showed an improvement in their game. Madrid's strongest moments were isolated and individual efforts, such as David Alaba's wicked shot, which Ederson tipped over.
Manuel Akanji flicked on De Bruyne's probing free-kick, which deflected into the net off the unfortunate Milito in the 76th minute to triple the lead for City.
Alvarez netted the fourth in the stoppage time and followed a loud, thunderous cheer from fans.
After defeating Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, this City side has now defeated another European heavyweight. Next month, Inter will visit Istanbul. The chances of their completing a historic triple on that night are increasing.
