Real Madrid and Manchester City duked out a pulsating 1-1 draw, with the first leg of the Champions League semi-final ending all square on Tuesday night after a pair of sensational goals from Vinicius Junior and Kevin De Bruyne.
Manchester City dominated possession in a tepid opening half-hour, passing the Santiago Bernabeu into a slumber as Real Madrid were penned back. Some spectators fell into the familiar trap of relating City’s dominance with Madrid’s inferiority.
Real Madrid playing like 3rd division Cup opponent facing City. On their heels eating pressure. 😜 #ChampionsLeague
— Maximiliano Bretos (@MaxBretosSports) May 9, 2023
Others were wiser to Madrid‘s unerring excellence in European competition.
City dominant. Real barely had a sniff. Benzema anonymous. Modric quiet. Vinicius Jnr done nothing. Real are 100% winning this.
— Nick Miller (@NickMiller79) May 9, 2023
Never cease to be surprised at how surprised people are by Real Madrid
— James Horncastle (@JamesHorncastle) May 9, 2023
Vinicius lit the fuse of the crowd and the tie with a ripsnorting drive to break the deadlock. Eduardo Camavinga had floated through City’s revered press before setting the Brazilian on his way, becoming the youngest player to provide a Champions League assist in the last 20 years.
When fretting over Vinicius ahead of the contest, Pep Guardiola warned that it “seems he does something every time he touches the ball”. On 36 minutes, that something was some strike.
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
Vinicius is the player people thought Neymar could be
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) May 9, 2023
Carlo Ancelotti described this iteration of Manchester City as “a more complete team compared to last year” but his Madrid side demonstrated exactly how to chisel out an advantage in the first half.
Real Madrid in that first half: 32% possession. 1 shot. 1 goal. 0.03 xG. And they’ll be absolutely fine with that.
— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) May 9, 2023
If Madrid had bided their time in the opening exchanges, hanging on the ropes to assess City’s approach before spotting a chink in their defence, the reigning European champions came out swinging with a swagger in the second half.
This isn’t Real Madrid CL voodoo (this time) it’s a group of extremely good players playing a very good game
— Sam Lee (@SamLee) May 9, 2023
Yet, in a reversal…
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