Defending Champions Manchester City on Wednesday night crashed out of the Champions League losing on penalties to Real Madrid
Real Madrid won 4-3 on penalties after the game ended 1-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate
Madrid drew the first blood through Rodrygo 12 minutes into the game while City equalised 14 minutes from the end of normal time when Kevin de Bruyne pounced on Antonio Rudiger’s clearance.
Efforts by City to get the second goal was thwarted as Madrid defended with their lives and sometimes City’s inability to take their chances as Real, despite being exhausted, held out for spot-kicks.
City looked on course to meet Bayern Munich in the semi-final when Luka Modric missed Real’s first penalty but Bernardo Silva’s dreadful effort and another from substitute Mateo Kovacic were saved by keeper Andriy Lunin, leaving former Chelsea defender Rudiger to step up and clinch victory for the great Champions League specialists.
It ended City’s bid for another Treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup – and they must now recover from this gruelling encounter to defend their FA Cup title as they take on Chelsea in the semi-final at Wembley on Saturday.
City had 33 shots to Real’s eight, 18 corners to one but they just could not put Carlo Ancelotti’s men away.
And there was always a danger that Real, who have been the great escapologists against City in this competition before, would find a way to get the job done.
So it proved, with the key moment coming when Silva chose to loft an awful penalty straight into the hands of Lunin, shifting the emphasis of the shootout back in Real’s favour after Modric’s first miss.
The home fans rose to their side amid their despair, the Champions League won against Inter Milan in Istanbul last season lost in the most painful of circumstances.
Champions League: Real Madrid Survive City Onslaught To Go Through
