Magical Manchester City storm past Real Madrid and into the Champions League final
For the third time in a decade, the winner of a tie between these two sides would progress to the ultimate showpiece. Real Madrid came out on top on the two previous occasions, with last year’s triumph for the Spanish giants leaving a particularly bitter taste in Man City’s mouths, as two late Rodrygo strikes put the Galacticos through.
Fast forward 12 months and Pep Guardiola's side wasted no time in gaining sweet revenge by playing Real off the park from the off.
Such was City’s early dominance that Erling Haaland could have had a brace by the midway point of the opening period, and was only denied by two stunning Thibault Courtois saves. But the Belgian goalkeeper’s unparalleled reflexes could only rescue his teammates so many times, and City finally broke the deadlock within 120 seconds of Haaland’s second effort.
Alert and deadly as ever, Bernardo Silva dispatched Kevin De Bruyne’s pinpoint through ball with aplomb to send the home crowd into raptures.
This Real side can never usually be written off though, and had Ederson not gotten the slightest of touches on Toni Kroos’ rasping drive from distance, the ball may well have nestled into the top corner instead of crashing against the crossbar.
However, City were still by far the better team as the first half went on and they doubled their advantage with the interval fast approaching. Silva was again the hero, nodding an unmarked header into the top corner and leaving Carlo Ancelotti’s charges with a mountain to climb.
As Real’s hopes of a fifth Champions League success in ten editions continued fading before their eyes, David Alaba almost halved the deficit in the 51st minute, forcing Ederson into another crucial stop from a free-kick. But it was a fleeting change in direction, and Courtois soon denied Haaland once more at the other end, when it seemed inevitable that the Norwegian phenomenon would finally get himself on the scoresheet.
The final nail in the holders’ coffin eventually came when Eder Militao bundled Manuel Akanji’s flick on into his own net, before Julian Alvarez slotted beyond Courtois in injury time.
It was ultimately an easy night for City, who have now won all of their previous 15 European home matches and can look forward to a second Champions League final in three seasons.
With the Premier League effectively wrapped up and an FAA Cup final against Manchester United still ahead of them, a historic treble to match the one their rivals famously attained back in 1999 has never felt closer.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
