Manchester City delivered a relentless performance with exceptional quality to defeat Real Madrid and reach the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul.
City have lost two semi-finals to Real Madrid, but they made no mistake here at a cheerful Etihad Stadium to now be one step away from claiming the trophy that has been extraordinarily out of reach for Pep Guardiola’s side.
And their magical first half, in particular, will be remembered for a long time, as the masters of this tournament were baffled by City’s brilliance.
They have maintained a probably unstoppable march towards a treble in the Champions League, the Premier League, which can be won with a home win over Chelsea on Sunday, and the FA Cup, where they face Manchester United in the final at Wembley.
Royal goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was heroic in saving two headers from Erling Haaland early in the first half, but could not prevent Bernardo Silva’s point-blank finish after 23 minutes, with the Portuguese midfielder scoring a looping header for the moment 8 minutes before half. time.
City faced Real’s occasional risk after the break, with Ederson saving David Alaba and Karim Benzema well, but they were up to the task and when Manuel Akanji’s header deflected off Eder Militao 14 minutes into the celebrations.
Substitute Julian Alvarez then capped the dominant victory with a beaten shot after holding on to a brilliant pass from Phil Foden.
City face Inter on June 10 as they seek to win the Champions League for the first time.
SOURCE: BBC
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