Real Madrid fight back from the brink to stun Man City



Real Madrid fights from the brink to stun Man City<br />













































Madrid, May 5 (BUS): Real Madrid fought from the brink of elimination to defeat Manchester City 3-1 after extra time and 6-5 on aggregate in the Champions League semi-finals.


City took a 1-0 lead last night and 5-3 on aggregate when Riyad Mahrez scored after 73 minutes, but substitute Rodrygo equalized in the last minute of normal time and headed in a minute later to equalize 5-5.


After five minutes of extra time, Karim Benzema converted a penalty awarded against Ruben Dias and Real, the 13-times European champion, to ascend the shocked England team to reach the final, Reuters reported.


Real will play Liverpool on May 28 in Paris, a repeat of the 2018 final in Kyiv, which the Spanish team won 3-1.


It was another fantastic backguard feat by Real who came back from behind for the third time in a row in the Champions League knockout phase of the season to stay on course to win Europe’s biggest club competition for the fifth time in the last 9 years.


After an amazing first leg full of goals and individual brilliance from both sides, the second leg was the exact opposite.


City worked tirelessly to subdue their hosts, who failed to manage a shot on target in the first half.


With Real Madrid quickly running out of ideas, Bernardo Silva pierced the middle of their defense and fired the ball for Mahrez to finish the match and City looked certain to stay on course to win the title for the first time.


But as they did against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 and Chelsea in the quarter-finals, Real summoned the magic they requested.


Rodrygo scored from close range to give them a lifeline and the Brazilian headed the net to send the Bernabeu crowd into ecstasy before Benzema completed the switch.


“Anything is possible when Real Madrid is called,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told Movistar Plus.


“That’s great. We’ve taken out very big clubs who spent a lot of money building their teams. But we have our history. And when Real Madrid reach the final, they go to win it.”


cautious approach


City dominated the first leg and coach Pep Guardiola was satisfied with his commitment and followed a similarly cautious approach as they did in the second leg of the quarter-final against Atletico Madrid.


The plan worked well in the first half, but Real missed a good opportunity to advance after the first half when Vinicius Junior met Dani Carvajal’s cross at the far post and sent a shot wide.


City continued to play the game of patience and earn the reward when Mahrez slammed his house.


Phil Foden almost consolidated City’s lead with a counter-attack led by Jack Grealish, who kept Real defender Eder Militao on the goal line, but Real refused to lie down.


In the last minute of regulatory time, substitute Eduardo Camavinga found Benzema in the far corner and set up French striker Rodrygo to score from close range.


After one minute, Rodrygo received a perfect cross from Dani Carvajal and got between 3 defenders a header into the net.


With the Bernabéu turned into a cauldron, it was only a matter of time until Real dealt the killer blow that came when Dias Benzema miscalculated and the Frenchman sent a precise penalty into the corner of the net.


“We were close. We were close. But in the end, we just couldn’t get to him,” Guardiola told BT Sport.


“We didn’t play to our best, but it’s normal, in the semi-finals, the players feel the pressure. Football is unpredictable, it’s a game like this. We have to accept it.”






































































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