Kevin de Bruyne on Wednesday orchestrated a dramatic Manchester City comeback as they stunned Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu to put one foot in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Madrid looked on course to edge a cagey contest after Isco’s smart finish early in the second half, but De Bruyne teed up Gabriel Jesus in the 78th minute and then tucked away a penalty five minutes later.
A pulsating finish saw Sergio Ramos sent off for preventing Jesus from going clear and Madrid’s captain will now be banned for the second leg at the Etihad Stadium on March 17.
Photo: AP
City’s two away goals would make them heavy favorites to go through, even if manager Pep Guardiola was quick to discourage complacency.
“It’s still not over,” Guardiola said. “If there is one team that can overcome this, it is this club [Real Madrid], with their experience and their history.”
“We know the situation,” Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said. “We have to go there and win.”
Madrid have now won only one of their past five games, with El Clasico against Barcelona in La Liga to come on Sunday.
“We are on a bad run, but we have to get ourselves out of it,” Zidane said. “Sunday is a chance to change.”
Guardiola sprung a surprise by picking De Bruyne up front and leaving Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho all on the bench.
“We played without a proper striker because of the way they defend,” Guardiola said. “They are so aggressive down the middle and when that happens you have to make the pitch wide.”
His gamble paid off handsomely, even if Nicolas Otamendi made the mistake that led to Isco’s opener while an injury to Aymeric Laporte meant that Fernandinho had to be introduced midway through the first half.
Laporte must now be in doubt for Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Aston Villa.
Guardiola on Tuesday said that Manchester City’s two-year Champions League ban, pending appeal, imposed by UEFA for breaching financial fair play rules would not act as a spur for his players.
However, it was on the minds of traveling fans, who were singing against European soccer’s governing body from almost the first minute.
The opening half was tentative, with both teams’ priority to stifle and City content to concede possession, so long as Jesus and Riyad Mahrez could race away on the break.
Jesus cut inside Raphael Varane, but shot straight at Thibaut Courtois and, on the stroke of halftime, the Brazilian came close again, this time Ramos blocking and Fede Valverde hacking away off the line.
Real should have scored when Karim Benzema’s header was palmed out by Ederson, but Vinicius Junior slipped when about to tap in from close range with the goal at his mercy.
City enjoyed their best spell after the break. Casemiro carelessly conceded possession and De Bruyne tore away, feeding Mahrez, who cut in and curled wide. Jesus drove another shot at Courtois.
Zidane considered a change and Gareth Bale was warming up when Madrid took the lead. Otamendi failed to control a Rodri pass and Vinicius broke, with Kyle Walker and Fernandinho rushing to meet him.
They left Isco free behind them and Vinicius picked him out, giving the Spaniard a simple finish.
The hosts smelled an opportunity for a second as Dani Carvajal weaved through and Ramos’ volley was deflected over by Fernandino.
Bale came on for Madrid and Sterling for City. Shortly after, De Bruyne’s clipped cross was too high for Ramos at the back post and Jesus’ header beat a weak right hand from Courtois to equalize.
Five minutes later, City completed the turnaround when Carvajal slid in late on Sterling and De Bruyne made no mistake from the spot.
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS