Kevin De Bruyne hauled Manchester City level in the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid after Vinicius Junior gave the hosts and holders the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The city was beaten in Madrid in dramatic circumstances in last season’s semis but began by dominating the action, with Thibaut Courtois making saves to deny De Bruyne and Rodri before a couple of routine stops from Erling Haaland.
Madrid grew into the contest and, after Ruben Dias made a goal-saving block to thwart Karim Benzema, Vinicius arrowed in his 15th Champions League goal from 25 yards to put the holders in the driving seat.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men were in the ascendancy after the break, with City’s defending increasingly last-ditch, but De Bruyne again demonstrated his big-game credentials with a blistering low drive from distance.
Benzema forced a fine save from Ederson as the clock ticked down, while Haaland’s threat was negligible after David Alaba made a brilliant block on the Norway star early in the second half.
Ederson then kept out another thunderous drive from substitute Aurelien Tchouameni to ensure the sides will reconvene in Manchester at 1-1 eight days from now
VINÍCIUS JÚNIOR SCORES A GOLAZO WITH REAL MADRID’S FIRST SHOT OF THE GAME! pic.twitter.com/MgGEYFjqkk
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 9, 2023
Vinícius Jr that is special
Real Madrid lead Man City at the Bernabéu!#UCL pic.twitter.com/IGZsfONGu1
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 9, 2023
Lineups:
Real Madrid (4-3-3, right to left): 1-Thibaut Courtois (GK) — 2-Dani Carvajal, 22-Antonio Rudiger, 4-David Alaba, 12-Eduardo Camavinga — 15-Federico Valverde, 8-Toni Kroos (18-Aurelien Tchouameni), 10-Luka Modric (6-Nacho Fernandez) — 21-Rodrygo Goes (11-Marco Asensio), 9-Karim Benzema, 20-Vinicius Junior
Real Madrid substitutes: 13-Andriy Lunin (GK), 26-Luis Lopez (GK), 5-Jesus Vallejo, 6-Nacho Fernandez, 7-Eden Hazard, 11-Marco Asensio, 16-Alvaro Odriozola, 17-Lucas Vasquez, 18-Aurelien Tchouameni, 19-Dani Ceballos, 24-Mariano Diaz
Man City: (4-2-3-1 right to left): 31-Ederson (GK) — 2-Kyle Walker, 5-John Stones, 3-Ruben Dias, 25-Manuel Akanji —16-Rodri, 8-Ilkay Gundogan — 20-Bernardo Silva, 17-Kevin De Bruyne, 10-Jack Grealish — 9-Erling Haaland
Man City substitutes: 18-Stefan Ortega (GK), 33-Scott Carson (GK), 4-Kalvin Phillips, 14-Aymeric Laporte, 19-Julian Alvarez, 21-Sergio Gomez, 26-Riyad Mahrez, 47-Phil Foden, 80-Cole Palmer, 82-Rico Lewis
Real Madrid vs Man City live updates, highlights from the Champions League semi-final
Fulltime: If City had to pick a Madrid player to aim a last-ditch shot from range, with respect, it would probably be Nacho. A deflection loops into Ederson’s gloves. He’s had a fine game and, along with De Bruyne, he is responsible for City heading into the second leg all square. That was absorbing stuff. Let’s do it all again in Manchester in eight days’ time!
90th minute+2: It’s Madrid pushing for the winner as Walker blocks from Camavinga. Is City going to let another last-minute goal in on this ground?
90th minute: There’ll be three minutes of stoppage time and there are two balls on the pitch! The Madrid crowd is furious with the referee but that’s really not his fault.
88th minute: Some serious shots going on tonight! Tchouameni with a piledriver. Ederson gets a strong arm up to turn over.
86th minute: Silva, who has struggled this half, gives a freekick away in a dangerous position. Modric over it. Rodri gets up at the back post, Rudiger outmuscles Akanji for Madrid to win a corner. Nacho comes on for Modric, which you assume means Camavinga into midfield.
81st minute: Asensio is on for Rodrygo. Tchouameni will also be entering the fray soon.
80th minute: The first substitution of this engrossing affair is coming up. Asensio is ready on the touchline for Madrid. It’s been a brutal night to go unchanged for 80 minutes.
79th minute: Camavinga is spending a lot of time in the City half. He didn’t much fancy chasing back then and is booked for bringing down Rodri.
78th minute: Marvellous save from Ederson! Kroos floats an enticing ball towards the back post, Benzema gets his head on it and the Brazilian goalkeeper gets a strong hand to it.
77th minute: Valverde bustles past Akanji down the right. He might have tried going down for a penalty but doesn’t. Stones clears the cross.
72nd minute: Gundogan is booked for a cynical trip on Carvajal. Alaba tries a shot from out on the right wing that flies over. All the people wearing white shirts in the penalty are obviously delighted.
67th minute: GGGOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Kevin De Bruyne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, my word! Another goal against the run of play and another screamer against the run of play. Rodri does the sort of snaffling job City hasn’t been doing enough of in this half. Gundogan knocks the ball back to De Bruyne about 25 yards out. Where Vinicius went high, he goes low, obliterating the ball beyond Courtois.
65th minute: Stones now with a block. Camavinga instigated that attack by coming in-field. Madrid’s fullbacks came into midfield, and Madrid won all the second balls. They’re out-Citying City.
64th minute: Dias tackles Rodrygo, who dances past Akanji and Grealish. City clear Modric’s corner but there’s a sense that they’re living on their wits a bit here.
62nd minute: Grealish gets back to deny Valverde, who bundles into the box. Cries for handball but nothing doing.
60th minute: Rodri turns a Vinicius cross behind and Madrid’s pressure continues. A long ranger from Valverde then sails over. City are wobbling here.
58th minute: From the corner, the ball falls to Rodryo. Deflection off Grealish, that’ll be another one.
57th minute: That man VInicius jinks into space and tries to pull a shot toward the far post. Stones deflect it behind. For a moment that looked like it might be an own goal.
56th minute: Taken short, De Bruyne punts towards Akanji but it sails out for a goal kick.
55th minute: De Bruyne and Gundogan combine to release Haaland. Now he can stretch his legs. Alaba gets back with a magnificent challenge. City corner.
54th minute: De Bruyne looks to curl one past Courtois left footed but that’s routine for the Madrid keeper.
52nd minute: Excellent stop from Courtois! Bernardo Silva releases De Bruyne with a pass off the right and again Courtois comes out on top in the battle of the Belgians. It was flagged offside on the field but that one was tight.
51st minute: Rodri does very well 1v1 against Vinicius. He wins the ball and then avoids handballing it as he tumbles. No margins for error.
50th minute: Vinicius, Benzema, and Carvajal all combine in an inventive move that ends with Benzema firing goalwards. Stones’ challenge turns the ball behind.
49th minute: This is tense. Madrid is enjoying more of the ball than they did during the same period in the first half. The next goal here is huge.
46th minute: We’re back underway, no changes for either side.
Halftime: Real Madrid had to soak up a lot of pressure during the first half-hour but Vinicius showed exactly what makes him one of the most magical players in the world at the moment with a stupendous long-range goal. That’s the difference right now and things were getting a bit heated before the break. Guardiola has a frank exchange of views with one of the referee’s assistants before heading down the tunnel. See you back here shortly.
45th minute+2: Having been smacked in the head by Rudiger, Gundogan is cleaned out by another fellow German international. Kroos gets booked.
45th minute+1: Carvajal and Grealsh continue the argument and the referee tells them both to grow up, or words to that effect.
45th minute: Haha, what a load of nonsense. Carvajal barges Grealish off the pitch as De Bruyne’s cross goes out of play. He then has a word with the England man, who reacts and Carvajal throws himself on the floor. Referee Dias has no interest in giving anyone a card and Alaba picks his teammate up, seemingly taking exception to the whole sorry scene.
42nd minute: Gundogan flashes a ball across the face of the Madrid goal but there’s no one there.
40th minute: City are trying to regroup but they’re giving Madrid more transitional opportunities than they were during the opening half an hour. It feels like a big five minutes for Guardiola’s men to get through without sustaining any further damage.
36th minute: GGGOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Vinicius Junior!!!!!
Oh, my word, what an unbelievable strike! Modric gets Madrid moving with a clever pass around Silva. Camavinga streams forward and finds Vinicius. The Brazilian lets fly from 25 yards. Ederson doesn’t sniff it. A magnificent goal.
35th minute: Excellent, searching ball from Valverde towards Benzema. The striker handles under pressure from Dias and Stones and is penalized as he sets it back toward Rodrygo. This is Madrid’s best spell of the game.
34th minute: It’s not just Manchester City who can shape-shift. Benzema gets out to the left and releases Camavinga to win a corner. Man city deals with the danger but hasn’t recovered its rhythm since the stoppage for Gundogan – who seems to be fine – to receive treatment.
32nd minute: Grealish uncharacteristically gives the ball away and a cross from the Madrid right just evades Vinicius.
31st minute: A groggy Gundogan looks like he’s going to try and continue. It won’t be lost on the City players that an accidental collision with Rudiger – then at Chelsea – during the 2021 final left De Bruyne with a broken cheekbone.
28th minute: Rudiger thuds into Gundogan, no free-kick. Madrid then recovers possession and break, at which point the referee stops the game. One of those rare bits of officiating that displeases absolutely everyone. Well done!
25th minute: Incredible block by Ruben Dias!!! Vinicius picks Rodri’s pocket, gets down the left, and sends a teasing low cross into the goalmouth. A sliding Dias hooks it clear. Benzema was waiting to tap home and it would have been very easy for the Portugal international to put that into his own net. That’s brilliant defending.
23rd minute: Whistles almost deafening in the Bernabeu on account of City not giving the hosts a kick for long periods. Throw another ball on and let the other lads have a go! Still, no real clear-cut chances were created by Guardiola’s men.
20th minute: John Stones burst forward from his hybrid defender/midfielder role and Camavinga brings him down right on the edge of the box. Curiously, referee Dias plays advantage and the passage ends up with Gundogan shooting over before explaining to the official that he’s really had much rathered the free-kick on the 18-yard line.
18th minute: Rodrygo darts inside Akanji and threads a ball for Benzema. Ederson gets out well to claim it at the Frenchman’s feet. Madrid’s most threatening moment so far.
16th minute: Grealish, who’s moving very nicely now, gets around the outside of Carvajal and stands up a ball to the far post. Haaland is on the end of it, that’s a good header, but Courtois mops up.
16. Super Jack on the ball! ⚡️
⚪️ 0-0 ⚫️ #ManCity pic.twitter.com/LqnR4pL5tw
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 9, 2023
15th minute: De Bruyne slips the ball to Haaland for his first sight of goal. It’s a half chance at best and the shot is too close to Courtois.
14th minute: Rodri cracks a sweet low strike from a distance. He scored a beauty against Bayern Munich in the previous round, remember? Courtois gets down with a strong arm to turn it behind. Another deep corner and Carvajal manages to bundle Haaland away from Silva’s chip back into the box.
12th minute: Walker snuffs out Vinicius’ latest raid and City play their way tidily out of trouble.
11th minute: Carvajal aims a big, booming ball out to Benzema, who’s drifted off the left. It just runs straight through to Ederson, though. I’m not sure booting the ball back to City as soon as they get it is the greatest idea for Madrid.
10th minute: A City right-wing corner goes deep toward the diminutive Silva. That can’t have been the plan.
8th minute: Rudiger gets up with Haaland but the ball falls to De Bruyne in a good position. The Belgium international gets the ball back from Silva and his compatriot Courtois gets down to his left to beat away a 20-yard strike.
7th minute: Madrid struggling to get out of their own third. Haaland tries to engineer some room in the box but is crowded out.
6th minute: City is hogging the ball. It’s been a scorching hot day in Madrid and it could be a very tiring night to chase.
5th minute: Nothing much came of that but City won the second ball, knocked it around a bit and Carvajal blocked a speculative shot from Gundogan.
4th minute: A deft touch from Benzema gives Vinicius room to stretch his legs. The return pass towards Benzema is dealt with untidily by Dias and Stones but dealt with Nevertheless. Up the other end, City wins a right-wing corner.
3rd minute: Rudiger pulls Haaland over. City free-kicks about 40 yards out. The Madrid defender offers his man some presumably choice observations.
2nd minute: Grealish slipped into that challenge and he’s hobbling a bit. Probably one to run off, mind.
1st minute: City gets underway. Ederson tests Rudiger out with his first boom toward Haaland. Vinicius and Walker enjoy an early duel. Then Grealish clatters into Rodrygo – good evening!
Source-BBC
