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.
“It was a great game between two teams with a lot of quality and incredible personality,” City coach Pep Guardiola said post-match in comments carried by Marca. “The result is what it is.
“We’ll rest, we’ll have the game with Leeds [United] and then we’ll travel to Spain next week. In my experience, to win this competition, you have to overcome the situations that football offers you. The result could have been better but this is Madrid.
“We played very well.
“We missed a lot of chances, yes. But we created many opportunities. We’ll have to take advantage of them more. We’re not going to complain about the result.
“I’m very proud and incredibly happy. Everyone has seen us up against a team with a lot of experience and we’ve done everything to win. Both with and without the ball.”
