Manchester City beat Real Madrid 4-3 on Tuesday evening.
It was a thrilling game between two of the finest teams in European football that has set up a mouthwatering Champions League semi-final second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
City started fast at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin de Bruyne opened the scoring in the second minute before Gabriel Jesus doubled their advantage in the eleventh.
But then Madrid rallied.
Karim Benzema pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 33rd minute only for City to respond at the beginning of the second half through Phil Foden, in the 53rd minute.
Vinicius Junior issued a response two minutes after that to make it 3-2 before Bernardo Silva scored City’s fourth in the 74th minute. Benzema then stepped up in the 82nd to score an audacious Panenka penalty and keep Madrid alive in the tie.
It was a magical night, exactly the kind of fixture that the Champions League was originally built to deliver.
And the highlight had to have been Benzema’s ice-cold penalty, the goal that’s set the second leg up so beautifully. Speaking post-match in comments carried by The Athletic, he explained it.
“I always have it in my head,” he said. “If you never take penalties, you will never miss one. It is about mental confidence, nothing else. I have a lot of confidence in myself.
“A defeat is never good. We are on a mission in this Champions League, we never drop our hands. Now we have to go to the Bernabeu. We need our fans, as never before, and we are going to do something magic. Which is to win.”
