Prisoners of the mutual fear that the superpowers profess, Real Madrid and Manchester City chose to leave their swords held high for the Etihad. The ‘skyblues’ venue will issue a ruling next Wednesday in a tie whose first leg was disputed by both armies at the Santiago Bernabéu with the handbrake on thinking about the return and without a hint of the epic and offensive hullabaloo that marked the end of the year passed in one or the other stadium.
The reigning European champion played for nothing to happen during the opening half hour and went ahead with his first shot on goal. Vinicius, after an extraordinary ride by Camavinga, silenced with a right hand the energetic staging of Pep Guardiola’s team, who kneaded the ball in the first half but lacked fang with Haaland arrested at all times by the rear of Carlo Ancelotti.
The whites grew and enjoyed around the locker room, to the point of subduing City at times. But when the locals were more comfortable, the British champion paid them with the same coin. A shot from the front of De Bruyne neutralized the advantage of Chamartín’s team and left everything open for the second and final assault on the temple of the Mancunian squad.
Real Madrid
Courtois, Carvajal, Rüdiger, Alaba, Camavinga, Kroos (Tchouaméni, min. 84), Valverde, Modric (Nacho, min. 87), Rodrygo (Asensio, min. 81), Benzema and Vinicius.
1
–
1
Manchester City
Ederson, Walker, Stones, Ruben Dias, Akanji, Rodriguez, De Bruyne, Gündogan, Bernardo Silva, Haaland and Grealish.
Goals:
1-0: min. 36, Vinicius. 1-1: min. 67, De Bruyne.Referee:
Artur Dias (Portugal): He admonished Kroos, Ancelotti, Gündogan, Camavinga and Bernardo Silva.Incidences:
Match corresponding to the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, played at the Santiago Bernabéu in front of 63,000 spectators.
Ancelotti, who equaled Alex Ferguson as the coach with the most games managed in the Champions League by reaching 190 games in the top continental competition, arranged his eleven of reference, beyond the entry of Rüdiger by the suspended Militao, to face a Manchester City also dressed in the gala suit, with the exception of the injured Aké.
The eternal aspirant appeared with an authoritarian spirit from the superiority of troops in the center of the field and Haaland frightening with his imposing presence in the area. The first time the Norwegian made contact with the ball, there was a deathly silence at the Santiago Bernabéu. His intimidation ability is comparable to that of a hypersonic missile, although the Whites barely allowed him to leave the silo throughout the game. Real Madrid, rushed from the start with the ball, agreed to stay in the first third of the field and lowered the ‘skyblue’ push with poise and defensive solidarity. Tight rows, ordered Ancelotti, with Vinicius as the main free verse.
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Despite their overwhelming territorial control, Guardiola’s team only counted a couple of shots from the edge that Courtois soberly aborted. In short, he laid too many eggs for so little omelette to come out. The opposite happened with Ancelotti’s troops, whose ability to handle the times is proverbial. A couple of stretches led by Vinicius served to put fear into City’s body. The first, a counter that germinated from a robbery by Alaba, went awry in the erratic reception of Benzema. The second, a pour in which the carioca rushed the line before raising his head and serving a death pass to ‘9’, expired in the boots of Rúben Dias when the Lyonnais licked his lips at the far post. The third time, however, was the charm. Camavinga, a thoroughbred capable of mutating from the wing to the interior in the blink of an eye, destroyed the enemy lines with exuberant driving and delivered Vinicius, who connected with a right hand from the front that pulverized Ederson’s nets.
Ederson saves at City
City, bossy but blunt, went into the break overwhelming the statistics but with their ears down. Real Madrid, as reactive as it was lethal in their only shot on goal, reached halftime with the satisfaction of having perfectly implemented Carletto’s plan, which involved minimizing risks at the back, wearing down the ‘citizens’ and hitting them on the counter .
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The advantage gave flight to Real Madrid, who returned from the locker room signing an exquisite play at the first touch that only needed Benzema to put the icing on the cake with a home-brand goal. Ederson avoided it by pulling out a prodigious hand to relieve a City who wanted the duel to take off his shirt. De Bruyne showed it on the first occasion that the Belgian managed to get out of the white trap. There was offside, but the action reinforced both the former Wolfsburg player, who finished off with the soul, and Courtois, author of a titanic save. He also thanked Haaland for the increase in revolutions, who was celebrating his release from prison just as Alaba appeared to put the shackles back on him.
Still, it was Ancelotti’s side that went up a gear, with Camavinga, Vinicius and Rodrygo appearing everywhere. He suffered the City with the effervescence of the white ‘next generation’, who smelled blood but missed a more effective version of Benzema to double the income. And the ‘skyblues’ returned the coin by hitting their rival when the game looked worse for Guardiola’s hosts. A loss by Camavinga preluded De Bruyne’s goal from the front, which culminated with an unappealable right hand in an electric triangulation between Rodri, Grealish and Gündogan.
Benzema caressed the second by heading a free kick kicked by Kroos at the far post, but Ederson responded with a stony hand. Also Tchouaméni with a whiplash from medium distance, again blocked by Ederson with a popcorn. The Brazilian goalkeeper, almost always in the second row, this time ended up being the main protagonist of a City with less gunpowder than expected, but more resilience.
2023-05-09 21:46:30
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