Vinicius Junior and Kevin De Bruyne exchanged magnificently as Real Madrid and Manchester City drew 1-1 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
City sentenced the first bars of the match to concede the only shot of Madrid in the first half, a very good goal by Vinicius that bothered those of Pep Guardiola.
But midway through the half, just as Madrid were pushing for their goal of the moment, De Bruyne silenced the Bernabeu with a ferocious shot from distance.
There is no backlog in history as there were for City at this stadium in last season’s semi-final and they will be positive about the prospect of completing the task at the Etihad Stadium next week.
Given that City managed to concede a two-goal lead before the last minute of regulation time in the final game of their semi-final against Madrid last season, before succumbing in extra time at the Bernabeu, that tie came with bad memories. .
And while there was no hint of the nerves of those when they scored Thibaut Courtois’ goal early in the match, controlling possession, their composure was put to the test when Madrid struck with a magical moment from Vinicius. He’s a normal player.
Eduardo Camavinga broke down the left and gave the ball to the Brazilian, who shot the ball past his compatriot Ederson from outside the penalty area. It was classic Madrid, absorbing tension before changing course for their opponents. I needed an answer.
City took time, with Erling Haaland well controlled through Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba. But it was De Bruyne who intervened, throwing the ball past fellow foreigner Courtois after being assisted by Ilkay Gundogan. It’s a match for Vinicius. meta.
Although Karim Benzema forced a smart save from Ederson with a close-range header, neither team may find a winner that night, who will have to arrive in Manchester next week. The tie is at stake, but, as such, there is no shortage of players capable of deciding between it.
“When we were better, they scored. When they were better, we scored,” Guardiola told BT Sport. ] with the quality they have with the ball.
“It’s 1-1. A final next Wednesday with our people. Now we go to Manchester and see what we can do better. When you play those games, it’s like a tiebreaker. For the second, you learn a lot about the first. I hope we can be informed.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri praised his teammates when speaking to BT Sport after the match.
“I think the first 25 or 30 minutes we controlled the game very well. The first shot they have, they scored a goal. But we’re still in the game, we didn’t replace our philosophy, we kept betting even if it was difficult. “.
“There’s a lot of concentration [needed] because when you lose it, it’s hard to get it back. They also have fast players up front. But the effort of the guys is incredible. “
In particular, Rodri gave credit to De Bruyne when it mattered most.
“He’s a great player for us, always. He is wonderful and helped us when we needed him most. We suffered a bit in the moment because they kept the ball and that purpose gave us the confidence to keep pressing. A smart result for us.
“A match, an attractive match,” Carlo Ancelotti told BT Sport.
“Difficult for us in the first half, at the moment it was much better. They led the starting line-up in the first half, but we were smart defensively and when we started playing the ball we created a lot of difficulties. “
“You have to stay calm, you have to keep the defensive position, not go crazy to press, stay there and play low blocking, and when we had the opportunity, we scored the first pass. [Vinicius Junior] is in a moment however, the team played well.
“I’m satisfied, with feelings in Wednesday’s game. “
Real Madrid’s next match is at Getafe’s home in La Liga on Saturday, at 8 p. m.
The European champions will travel to the Etihad to face Man City in their Champions League semi-final match on 17 May at 20:00.
Ahead of their rematch with Real, City to Goodison Park to face Everton in the Premier League on Sunday, live on Sky Sports; Start 14 hs.
May 14: Everton (A) – Premier League, start 2pm, on Sky Sports
May 17: Real Madrid (H) – Champions League, start 20:00 h
May 21: Chelsea (H) – Premier League, start 4pm
May 24: Brighton (A) – Premier League, kick-off at 8 p. m. m. , by Sky Sports
May 28: Brentford (A) v Premier League, start 4:30 p. m.
June 3: Manchester United (N) – FA Cup Final, start 3pm