The first time in history they will meet in the quarterfinals of the Champions League Real Madrid and Manchester City It would be the tiebreaker for the equality that reigned in their confrontations, with two wins for each team and an indelible memory for both, the semi-final tie that lifted Rodrygo.
Those semifinals of Real Madrid’s last victory in the Champions League, in 2022, that of great victories with returns to Santiago Bernabeu against PSG, Chelsea and City, it became an unforgettable moment in the confrontation between the king of Europe and the club that fulfilled its great goal, with the help of Pep Guardiola, to reach ‘Orejona’.
“It’s the only game I haven’t seen over and over and never will,” he admitted. Rodri Hernandezthe Spanish midfielder in charge of City football, already in the history of the Manchester club with the goal that gave him ‘orejona’ in the last edition.
A tie was dominated from start to finish by Manchester City, with a three goal advantage in Etihad, to win the minimum after the race to be remembered by Vinícius Junior, who put his hands on Guardiola’s head, and Karim Benzema’s double (4-3).
So many Mahrez He left the Santiago Bernabéu frozen in return until the epic appeared, with a team that does not give up and should not be considered dead. The purpose of Rodryo in 90 and the Brazilian’s unforgettable header in 92 sent the rivalry into extra time. With the city unable to digest what happened to him after his clear superiority, eliminated by a penalty scored by Benzema (3-1).
Revenge in the same round, the semifinals, was carried out by City in the last edition. In that case, as will happen in the current edition, with the first leg at the Bernabéu and a superiority of Guardiola again without the prize of victory. The great purpose of ‘Vini’ he equalized it Kevin de Bruyne (1-1), to give way to a clear ‘citizen’ superiority in the second leg. A 4-0 was the heaviest defeat for Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid in the Champions League and marked the distance between the two favorites for the title.
And Real Madrid converted the Etihad Stadium in the cursed land. Two draws in their first visits and three consecutive defeats, including at San Siro, is the worst possible scenario for the white team. He has not won in his five visits to Champions. Despite the fact that the history of official confrontations between both clubs is a record (four wins for City, three for Real Madrid and three draws).
But the feeling of being a step below that the Madrid team felt in the last match has already been experienced in 2020, in a tie marked by the coronavirus pandemic that stopped football and caused more than five months to separate the two games if where is Real Maadrid, then. managed by Zinedine Zidanefell to the same result at the Santiago Bernabéu as at the Etihad (2-1), with no option for a return.
Until then, despite the fact that the Madrid team did not win in Manchester, they dominated the duels. He has never lost an official match. The first confrontation in the top continental tournament took place in a group stage. On the first day of the 2012-13 edition, the goals of the Brazilian Marcelo, the French Karim Benzema and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo turned the match around twice after Bosnian Edin Dzeko and Serbian Aleksandar Kolarov scored (3-2).
Real Madrid’s return and first visit to the Etihad, in November 2012, was the occasion on which they came closest to victory. The Argentine stopped it with a penalty ‘If Aguero late in the match (1-1), after an early goal from Benzema.
Three years later, in the 2015/2016 season, the reunion took place in the semifinals. The first for the City that woke up from his dream, surrendered to real Madrid in a tie full of equality decided by a small detail. In their second visit to the Etihad, the Madrid side managed a goalless draw in a serious match that gave way to a tension-filled rivalry at the Bernabéu. The luck factor decided the comeback as Brazilian Fernando scored an own goal after a cross from Welshman Gareth Bale headed into Joe Hart’s corner.
With the arrival of Pep Guardiola on the ‘citizen’ bench, the Manchester team turned their personal wrist. They lost just one game, and in overtime, won four and tied one.
This will be the third consecutive meeting between the two clubs in the final phase of the Champions League, a situation that Real Madrid has experienced in its history against Bayern, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
