Commiserations to Manchester City, who at least still have the Premier League to play for. Congratulations to Real Madrid, who will face Liverpool in Paris on May 28. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
Pep Guardiola talks to BT Sport. “We were close. We were close. But at the end, we could not reach. It is simple. The first half, we did not have game. We were not good enough. But we did not suffer much. When we scored the goal we were better. Our tempo, our game, our players were comfortable. In the last ten minutes, they did not attack and attack and you suffer. It did not happen. They put a lot of players in the box. They made crosses and scored two goals. We didn’t play our best, but that is normal, players feel the pressure because they want to do it. Football is unpredictable, and sometimes you have to accept it. Now we need time to process it, come back home, and we have four games left.”
Carlo Ancelotti speaks to BT. “What happened tonight also happened against Chelsea, but it’s really difficult to say why. It’s the big history of this club, which helps us to keep going when things are gone. The game was close to finished, but we were able to find some energy. We played a good game against a really strong rival. Psychologically we were better in extra time. I never thought we had lost, I had no time to think about it. I am really happy to be in Paris against a really great rival. I think it will be a fantastic game of football.”
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David Hytner was at the Bernabeu tonight. His report on Real’s almost supernatural comeback has landed. Here it is!
Real Madrid will face Liverpool in the final for the third time. Here’s a reminder of what happened in 1981 and 2018.
The Bernabeu is a party scene right now. You’d normally point out that nights like this don’t come round too often, but fans of PSG and Chelsea may demur. Pep and his team trudge down the tunnel and into their dressing room, stunned beyond feeling. This could take some getting over. “At least De Bruyne will be fresh for the Newcastle game at the weekend,” quips Niall Mullen, arguably playing the comedy card a little too soon.
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A reminder of times past.
Pep offers Carlo Ancelotti a warm handshake and his congratulations, though his thin-lipped smile and grey pallor betrays his mood. A few of the City players, most notably Zinchenko, are in tears. What a heartbreaking way to go out. How did they let that slip? By contrast, the hosts cavort with a mixture of disbelief and glee. Real Madrid will play Liverpool in the 2022 Champions League final! What an absurd run they’re on! As though the PSG and Chelsea ties weren’t dramatic enough!
EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City (agg 6-5)
The whistle goes, six seconds early. Real Madrid, against preposterous odds, have made it through to the Champions League final!
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ET 120 min +3: Rodrygo smashes a clearance upfield. Like he’s not already done enough. City return the ball. Courtois claims, and falls to the floor. It’s nearly all over!
ET 120 min +2: City can’t get the ball up the right end of the pitch. Shrill whistles ping around the Bernabeu.
ET 120 min +1: The corner leads to a game of head tennis, which leads to a goal kick. Courtois doesn’t rush to take it.
ET 120 min: Grealish skitters down the left and wins a corner. Before it can be taken, the fourth official’s board goes up: there will be three added minutes. Pep wants more and goes apoplectic. He’s not getting more.
ET 119 min: The 88th minute of normal time seems an age ago. Those Grealish near misses. “It’s surely far too late for City to regret these close shaves, though.” Ahem.
ET 118 min: Sterling romps down the left, goes over, and claims a free kick as he tries to nip between Vazquez and Rodrygo. No dice, says the referee, who points for a goal kick.
ET 117 min: Sterling competes for a long ball on the edge of the Madrid box. Carvajal blooters clear.
ET 116 min: Grealish effs and jeffs as he commits a needless foul on Valverde. The clock ticks on.
ET 115 min: Militao finally makes way. Vallejo comes on in his place. Meanwhile an unhappy, finger-wagging Vinicius is replaced by Lucas Vazquez.
ET 113 min: Zinchenko is booked for clipping the heels of Rodrygo, who was tearing up the right wing.
ET 112 min: Gundogan sends a long free kick into the Real box. The hosts are ponderous in clearing ... but eventually manage it, with a little help from Sterling, who over-elaborates and ships possession.
ET 110 min: Militao comes back on. The Bernabeu is no longer bouncing; Real have something to lose now, and the tension is palpable.
ET 109 min: Militao hobbles off, but like Walker before him, he’s going to try to extend his evening.
ET 108 min: Sterling scampers after Foden’s long pass, but Nacho gets his body in the way and buys a cheap free kick. Militao takes the opportunity to go down. Foden and Fernandinho take turns to try to haul him up. He refuses to respond.
ET 107 min: Militao looks to be cramping up. He can hardly walk, never mind run.
Real get the second period of extra time underway. City have 15 minutes to save themselves ... and during the break, Pep gave them some beneficial advice in the passionate style.
EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City (agg 6-5)
Cancelo crosses from the right. Foden sends a header towards the bottom left. Courtois fingertips it out. Fernandinho stretches out a leg, but can’t bundle home from a couple of yards, poking wide of the empty net. And that’s half time in extra time! Now it’s Real who are one period away from a May 28 showdown with Liverpool!
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ET 105 min: Asensio flicks a header into the City box. The ball hits Dias’s hand. Real want a penalty, but Dias’s arm was in a natural position and there was next to no space between the players. The referee quite rightly isn’t interested.
ET 104 min: Benzema is replaced by Ceballos. He’ll be missed if City can force penalties.
ET 103 min: Now it’s Real’s turn for a little clock management. Rodrygo takes his sweet time to get up, with a little help from the physio. He’s good to continue, of course. Meanwhile here’s Ruth Purdue: “So no away goals was a good idea huh?
ET 101 min: Zinchenko and Grealish busy themselves down the left, but can’t find the combination that would get them into the box. Zinchenko dives in the environs of Rodrygo and claims a penalty, but come off it. Real counter. Sterling slides in on Rodrygo and ends up in the book.
ET 99 min: Sterling comes on for Rodri.
ET 98 min: A free kick for City out on the right. They load the Real box. Gundogan curls in. Camavinga half clears. The ball’s recycled down the left and cut back for Fernandinho, who can’t keep his shot down. Goal kick.
ET 96 min: Foden makes his way down the right and wins a corner off Nacho. Gundogan’s delivery isn’t up to much. Asensio clears. The noise in the stadium is ear-splitting, as you’d imagine.
GOAL! Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City (Benzema 95 pen); agg 6-5
Fernandinho comes over to have a word with Benzema, who has to wait an age to take the spot kick. Can he psyche him out? Nope! Benzema rolls into the bottom right, having sent Ederson the wrong way. Madrid lead for the first time in the tie!
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Penalty for Real Madrid!
ET 93 min: Camavinga slips Rodrygo into space down the right. He rolls into the box for Benzema. Dias slides in from behind, clips his man, and the referee points to the spot!
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ET 92 min: The game restarts. A loon invades the pitch. The game restarts again, and it’s not long before Benzema opens his body and sends a powerful sidefoot towards the top right from the edge of the City box. Ederson handles well, especially in the circumstances.
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The colour has drained from Pep Guardiola’s face. He has the look of ... well, let me hand over to Kári Tulinius: “When the camera cut to Guardiola, he had the expression of a man who had not only been told that his cat was dead, but that his cat had never existed at all. Oh my, what a turn up for the neutrals!” Pep will need to get it together quickly. Time for a Sir Alfesque “you’ve won it once...” speech?
¡Fútbol! ¡Infierno sangriento!
FULL TIME: Real Madrid 2-1 Manchester City (agg 5-5)
... but the whistle goes for full time. Half an hour of extra time, followed by penalties if required, coming up!
90 min +7: Can City snatch it back at the death? Zinchenko sends a free kick into the mixer ...
90 min +6: Valverde is booked for an agricultural slide on Fernandinho.
90 min +5: Safe to say, the Bernabeu is jumping.
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90 min +4: Fernandinho strides down the inside-right channel and is barged over by Camavinga. Free kick. Fernandinho taps it quickly and finds Foden clear on the penalty spot! Foden aims for the top right but leans back and the shot flies over. This is absurd.
90 min +3: What are City doing?! Benzema slips a pass down the inside-right channel and Rodrygo nearly whips home from the right-hand side of the six-yard box! Ederson is forced to turn around his own post ... and the corner is cleared. This is incredible!
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-1 Manchester City (Rodrygo 90+1); agg 5-5
Oh my word! A cross from Carvajal on the right. The ball flicks off the top of Asensio’s head ... and then Rodrygo flashes a header into the top left!
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GOAL! Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City (Rodrygo 90); agg 4-5
A ball floated down the inside-left channel by Camavinga. Benzema high-kicks a volleyed pass towards the near post, where Rodrygo slams home. And there will be six added minutes! Now then.
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89 min: Carvajal slides a low cross through the City box from the right. Asensio can’t poke home. But no matter, because ...
88 min: Grealish tears down the left again and slips a powerful shot past Courtois from a tight angle. Mendy somehow clears off the line! Grealish comes again, down the same flank. His low drive is deflected wide right by Courtois’ boot. Nothing comes of the corner. It’s surely far too late for City to regret these close shaves, though.
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86 min: From the right of the D, Cancelo sends a swerving diagonal shot towards the top left. Courtois does very well to parry clear.
85 min: Before the resulting free kick can be taken, the goalscoring hero Mahrez is replaced by Fernandinho. Gundogan’s eventual ball into the mixer is cleared easily enough.
84 min: Grealish turns on the jets and prepares to sprint past Militao on the left. Militao hangs out a cynical leg and goes into the book.
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82 min: Rodrygo tears down the right, and for a second there’s the whiff of danger, but he’s got nobody with him in support, and Zinchenko clears. Real come again, Benzema breaking clear down the middle, but his low shot is parried bravely by Ederson. The offside flag goes up anyway.
80 min: Real can’t get anything going. City can, though, Silva dribbling down the right and winning a corner. They play it short, and go nowhere, but the clock ticks on.
78 min: Grealish comes on for Jesus.
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77 min: Asensio curls in low from the left, allowing Ederson to gather and channel his inner Pickford by flopping to the floor. City have earned the right to start running down the clock.
76 min: Blue Moon rings around the Bernabeu. That defiant roar from the home fans didn’t last long.
75 min: The Bernabeu roars in defiance. Ancelotti also reacts, sending on Asensio and Camavinga for Casemiro and Modric.
GOAL! Real Madrid 0-1 Manchester City (Mahrez 73); agg 3-5
Gundogan and Zinchenko make an instant impact! They combine down the left before slipping a pass infield for Silva, who runs and runs and runs. Upon reaching the edge of the box, Silva clips a pass to his right. Mahrez, rushing in from the flank, smashes an instant shot into the top right, beating Courtois at his near post with pace! City have one foot in the final!
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72 min: Walker doesn’t require the stretcher, getting to his feet and limping off. He’s replaced by Zinchenko, who will take over at left back, while Cancelo moves across to fill in for the departing right back. City also swap the out-of-sorts De Bruyne for Gundogan.
70 min: Courtois launches long. Vinicius looks to have got in behind Walker, who runs into the back of his man. No free kick, but Walker goes down in pain. Will he survive this one? Real claim time wasting, but on comes the stretcher.
68 min: Real make the first change of the evening, and unsurprisingly it’s an attacking one: Rodrygo comes on for Kroos.
66 min: Casemiro brings Silva down as the City man busies himself on the left flank. De Bruyne fires the free kick into the mixer. Benzema heads clear.
65 min: Carvajal is booked for a late clack on De Bruyne. The referee brought his cards with him after all.
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63 min: Walker trudges off morosely ... but he’s chomping on an energy gel ... and now it looks as though he’ll try to keep going! Zinchenko was stripped and ready to go, as well.
62 min: Walker goes down, shaking his head. It looks as though it’s the end of the road for him tonight.
60 min: Walker miscontrols and is stripped by Vinicius, who makes off down the left. He crosses, hoping to find Benzema, but Laporte clears. This has been a slow burner of a performance by Real - well, by both teams, really - but this suddenly feels like the business end of a semi-final now.
58 min: The crowd are well into this now, having become a little quiet towards the end of the first half. And no wonder: Real have been the better side since the restart.
56 min: Foden is barged off the ball by Modric and Real break upfield. Vinicius and Benzema can’t quite combine on the edge of the City box and the visitors clear again. Real are finally carrying a threat in attack.
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55 min: Walker’s loose pass in the centre circle is snaffled by Casemiro, who hares towards the City box. Casemiro lays off for Vinicius, but Silva arrives on the scene to mop up, just in time. For the first time this evening, City are looking a little nervous.
53 min: Vinicius dribbles with intent down the left. He pulls back for Modric, who attempts a Le Tissieresque flick and volley. He’s closed down. Ederson comes out to claim but flaps. City eventually clear, but their nerves betrayed them there. The crowd are lifted as a result.
51 min: Now it’s Silva’s turn to escape an obvious booking, for a tug on the back of Modric’s shirt. This referee really isn’t in the mood to make any big decisions, that’s for sure.
50 min: Jesus nips down the left and shoots low and hard from a tight angle. Courtois catches with safe hands. That’s City’s fifth attempt on target; Real have yet to take one.
48 min: Benzema dribbles down the left but is stripped of possession by Dias. Real have come out for the second half having visibly upped the tempo.
47 min: That was an appalling miss by Vinicius, even if it wouldn’t have counted. Not great for the old confidence.
46 min: Straight from the kick-off, Modric wedges a pass down the right for Carvajal, who crosses low towards the far post. Vinicius should slam home from six yards, but shanks wide left! His blushes are spared, sort of, when the flag pops up for offside. City were sleeping, though.
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Real get the second half started. There had been a rumour that Fernandinho was coming on for an injured Kyle Walker, but the City right back is back out.
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HALF TIME: Real Madrid 0-0 Manchester City (agg 3-4)
De Bruyne’s shot is deflected out for a corner. One corner leads to another, and then the half-time whistle goes. Carvajal, Nacho and Militao surround the referee and complain about something, it’s really not clear what. Vinicius seems fairly annoyed, too, and is advised to pipe down by his countryman Fernandinho. Everyone eventually takes their leave, and as things stand, it’s City who’ll be facing Liverpool in Paris on May 28.
45 min: Mendy crosses from the left. Valverde tries to win a header at the far stick, but Laporte eyebrows out for a corner ... that Real aren’t awarded! There will be two bonus minutes before the break.
43 min: Suddenly Benzema tears clear down the left! He strides into the box, opens his body, and ... sends a riser over the bar. Wild. His blushes are spared when the flag goes up belatedly for offside. He was well off.
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42 min: Vinicius is Real’s chief point of attack right now. This time he tries to take on Mahrez, but can’t get past his man.
40 min: Vinicius nearly breaks into the City box on the left, but is denied by a sensational sliding Walker tackle. Nothing comes of the corner. Vinicius v Walker is turning into a great contest.
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39 min: Foden chests and volleys, smacking a speculative one goalwards from distance. Courtois does well to get down and save, the surprise shot heading towards the bottom left.
37 min: Modric shovels a pass down the middle and very nearly springs Vinicius through the middle. Walker eases him off the ball, leaning on him slightly from behind, Vinicius falling to the floor. The home fans want a red card - Walker was the last man - but they’re not getting one, as play is waved on. It would have been a very soft dismissal, though you’ve seen them given by less laissez-faire referees.
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36 min: This is all a bit scrappy. A week is a long time in football all right.
34 min: That’s Casemiro’s second egregious challenge of the evening - remember his scissor tackle on De Bruyne - and he really should be bathing now. But here we are.
32 min: Casemiro hauls back Foden by the scruff of the neck. That’s an absurd challenge, and should be a yellow card, but the Real midfielder escapes sanction because the ref waves an advantage, then forgets about what happened when the move breaks down.
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30 min: Valverde has the opportunity to send Vinicius clear down the middle, but his attempt at a slide-rule defence splitter is no good. City’s defence certainly doesn’t look impregnable.
28 min: Kroos sends the corner into the mixer. Militao goes up for a header but clatters into Walker, who needs the once-over from the physio. After a splash of water, the City right back is good to continue.
27 min: Kroos curls the free kick towards the top left. The ball nicks off Mahrez and out for a corner.
26 min: ... so having said that, Real advance upfield for the first time in a while, Vinicius cutting in from the left and going over Rodri’s leg. Free kick in a dangerous position, just to the left of the City D.
25 min: Real can’t retain possession, and can’t get out of their final third. Now it’s Carlo Ancelotti’s turn to say his piece on the touchline.
23 min: De Bruyne lays off to Jesus, just to the right of the D. Jesus whips hard for the top right. Just off target. Had that been in the corner, Courtois wasn’t getting there. City are beginning to get on top.
22 min: Walker makes good down the right but lumps his cross out of play on the other wing. Pep continues to rant and rave, but this time in the comfort of his seat in the dugout.
21 min: A mistake by Militao allows Silva to enter the Real box down the inside-right channel. Silva creams a shot from a tight angle towards the top right. Courtois parries around the post for a corner that leads to nothing. The first serious hand-warmer of the match.
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19 min: Pep looks a little agitated on the touchline, like that’s breaking news.
18 min: Kroos hoicks a free kick long. The ball nearly breaks to Valverde, then Benzema, on the edge of the City box. It instead loops left to Vinicius, sitting up nicely as he races into the box from the wing. Vinicius skelps his shot high over the bar. Another good, if not gilt-edged, chance for Madrid.
17 min: More City possession. The home fans don’t like it.
15 min: De Bruyne pearls a long-distance shot towards the top right. Courtois is behind it all the way. Real counter through Vinicius down the left. Walker catches him up, but the striker checks and nearly finds Benzema with a pass rolled across the front of the City box. Cancelo reads the danger and intercepts.
14 min: More whistling as City enjoy a bit of sterile possession in midfield. Hey, it’s not City who have to score.
12 min: Another half chance for Benzema, who lashes a low right-wing cross by Valverde over the bar from 12 yards. Ederson takes an age over the restart, Jordan Pickford style, disapproving whistles ringing in his lugs.
11 min: One of City’s centre backs now has to walk the disciplinary tightrope for at least 80 minutes.
9 min: Mahrez’s delivery of the resulting free kick is no good. Courtois claims.
8 min: Casemiro tackles De Bruyne from behind. A scissor action, and he’s fortunate not to go into the book. Modric and Laporte do, though, as they engage in a bout of shoving. Laporte really pushed his luck there, catching Modric in the face with his hand. A fussier referee might have flashed a red, though there wasn’t too much in it. Modric pushed him over afterwards, too, so Real don’t complain too much.
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6 min: Ederson is very nearly closed down by Vinicius, taking an absolute age to clear with the ball at his feet. Vinicius was inches away from embarrassing the keeper. Did Zack Steffen teach us nothing?
5 min: Silva nearly bursts into the Real box through the middle, but he’s adjudged (correctly) to have used an arm mid-dribble. This game is already being played at 101 miles per hour.
4 min: Carvajal curls in from the right. Benzema rises highest, and he’s in acres of space on the penalty spot, but he uncharacteristically misses the target with his header by a big margin. The flag pops up for offside, in any case.
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3 min: Cancelo drops a shoulder to stride away from Carvajal down the left, and wins the first corner of the match off Militao. Foden takes it long. A game of head tennis breaks out before Real clear their lines. Both teams have already stated their intent, then.
2 min: Kroos flicks the free kick to the near stick, where Rodri reacts first to clear. “The Godfather II was even better,” recalls Justin Kavanagh. “Here’s hoping.”
1 min: Vinicius Junior goes on a run down the left and is shoved in the back by Mahrez. A free kick right by the corner flag.
Manchester City get the ball rolling. We’ll find out who faces Liverpool in Paris on Saturday 28 May soon enough!
The teams are out! Real wear their famous merengue white, while City sport that dark-blue MAN CITY third-kit monstrosity, an affront to one of the loveliest club crests there is. A rare old atmosphere at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu; they know how to host a European night around here all right. We’ll be off after the swapping of pennants, shaking of hands, and playing of Zadok the Priest (Version). Not long now!
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Pep Guardiola talks to BT Sport. “It will be different. There will be moments to defend, transitions, an open game. Kyle Walker trained, we spoke yesterday, and he said ‘I am ready’. Of course he is an important player for us. I am not a guy who likes to risk, but there are moments of the season you have to risk, and this is one of them.”
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Pre-match prediction. It’s going to be a magical night for Real Madrid, according to this sheet of A3 paper spotted outside the Bernabeu. Not sure what’s in the bag. Fags and booze, maybe, or cured meat.
Pre-match reading.
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History is on City’s side tonight. Real Madrid have a long history in Europe, but have never come from behind to win a semi-final in the Champions League or European Cup after losing the first leg, whether home or away. They’re zero for eight, having failed to turn things around against Manchester United (1968), Ajax (1973), Bayern Munich (1987, 2001 and 2012), Barcelona (2011), Borussia Dortmund (2013) and Juventus (2015).
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Real Madrid make two changes to the XI selected to start last week in Manchester. Nacho and Casemiro take the places of David Alaba and Rodrygo, who are named tonight as substitutes.
Manchester City also make two changes to their first-leg starting XI. Kyle Walker is back from an ankle injury, while Joao Cancelo returns from suspension. John Stones is injured, while Oleksandar Zinchenko drops to the bench.
The teams
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Eder Militao, Nacho, Mendy, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Alaba, Vallejo, Asensio, Marcelo, Lunin, Jovic, Lucas, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Mariano, Camavinga, Fuidias.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Foden.
Subs: Ake, Sterling, Gundogan, Grealish, Zinchenko, Steffen, Fernandinho, Carson, Egan-Riley, Palmer, McAtee, Lavia.
Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy).
Preamble
Last week, this happened ...
More please! Kick off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
