Manchester City will face Inter Milan in the Champions League final on June 10 in Istanbul after thrashing Real Madrid 4-0 to secure a 5-1 semi-final aggregate victory
Manchester City produced a resounding 4-0 thrashing of 14-time winners Real Madrid to progress to the Champions League final with a 5-1 aggregate win.
There was the occasional scare when Toni Kroos hit the crossbar and Ederson was needed to make a fingertip save from David Alaba’s free-kick but for most of the night, City dominated the 14-times winners of this competition. At half-time, Guardiola’s team were 2-0 up after enjoying nearly 80 percent possession and in the first 20 minutes, Real Madrid couldn’t even muster a touch of the ball in the attacking third of the pitch. In the same spell, City had 107.
With Inter Milan waiting in Istanbul on June 10, this was billed as the final before the final and City spent most of the night in cruise control. They are three wins away from the treble and, in this form, they will never get a better chance of writing themselves into the history books.
Silva a crucial cog in Guardiola’s winning machine
This is City a team full of superstars but Silva’s importance to it cannot be underestimated. In Guardiola’s eternal search for complete control of a football match, the Portugal midfielder helps him get close — keeping the ball when City have it and chasing it down when they don’t. Two first half goals were the highlight of his performance against Real Madrid but his entire shift oozed class and intelligence.
His movement for City’s opener was so good that he had drifted into a space in the penalty area big enough that when Kevin De Bruyne looked up to slide through the pass, it was probably one of the easiest assists he’s ever had. The finish was devastatingly calm — just like his second when he could have easily headed the ball against Alaba on the line but instead guided into the corner.
This will probably always be a season remembered for Erling Haaland’s goals but the City fans who have turned up at the Etihad week in, week out will know just how big a role players like Silva have had. He is only the third player to score two or more goals in a Champions League semifinal tie against Real Madrid after Lionel Messi in 2011 and Robert Lewandowski in 2013. This was his night.
Real Madrid’s crown slips on a miserable night in Manchester
Ancelotti will feel that the tie wasn’t truly over until City’s third goal after 76 minutes but the writing was on the wall long before then. Few teams have been able to suffocate Real Madrid in the Champions League but City’s first half was so impressive that when Madrid’s players ran out for the start of the second half, a few of them looked like they already knew the game was up.
There was a moment in the first half when Rodrygo threaded a ball down the left for Vinicius Junior to chase. The Etihad Stadium held its breath as one of Madrid’s main attacking threats sprinted towards the penalty area but before he could even get a toe to the ball, Kyle Walker had eaten up the ground in front of him and tidied up any danger with minimal fuss. Everywhere you looked, City players won.
Karim Benzema barely got a sight of goal and Luca Modric was so overwhelmed in midfield that he was substituted after just an hour. Real Madrid have had some thrilling nights in the Champions League and it’s likely to provide more in the future, but this was a chastening experience in a tournament that they like to think of as their own.
