Madrid – Manchester City approach the CL quarter-finals after the first leg coup at Real. De Bruyne becomes the match winner, Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, on the other hand, becomes a tragic figure.
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are in an excellent starting position for the quarter-final smash and can at least breathe a sigh of relief after the heavy UEFA penalty.
The Skyblues beat Real Madrid 2-1 (0-0) at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu after falling behind.
Isco had scored the lead for the Royal side (60th) after Vinicius Junior’s pass, preceded by a serious defensive effort from the visitors.
Gabriel Jesus then equalised in the 78th minute of the game, but City captain Kevin De Bruyne crowned his strong performance and made the comeback perfect from the point (83rd) shortly afterwards.
“When we were better, we conceded a goal,” Guardiola said after the game. “When they were better, we scored a goal ourselves. That’s football.” The 49-year-old was very impressed with his team’s performance overall: “The way we played is important.”
“It was hard at the beginning and they were a bit better. We showed too much respect,” said De Bruyne at Sky. “The second half was much better. Our reaction after we were down was very good.”
Ramos flies off the pitch
Real captain Sergio Ramos, on the other hand, became the tragic figure of the game. The central defender had already looked bad at 1-1, but shortly before the end of the game he was sent off the pitch because of an emergency brake (86th). Ramos had brought down Gabriel Jesus just before the edge of the penalty area.
He will not be able to help his team in the return match on the island on 17 March.
Real without Kroos – City with Gündogan
Real coach Zinedine Zidane did without international player Toni Kroos in midfield, while his DFB colleague Ilkay Gündogan played through on the opposite side. “I’ve only played at the Bernabeu for the third time, now winning for the first time feels good. But the goal I conceded made me extremely nervous,” Gündogan said afterwards at Sky.
In the new edition of the semi-finals of the 2015/16 season, which Real (0-0, 1-0) won by a razor-thin margin, both teams were extremely cautious in the early stages.
After half an hour, however, Real were given a top-class double chance by French World Champion Karim Benzema in his 100th Champions League match and Vinicius. The guests from England had their best chance of the first half (45.+2) through Jesus, but the attacker’s shot was collectively scraped off the line by three Real defenders.