Real Madrid and Manchester City have played out to a 1-all draw in an exciting first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Manchester City started well and had Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtios pulling off excellent saves in just 13 minutes from Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri.
Real Madrid defense worked hard to contain danger-man Erling Haaland by tight-marking him and cutting off supply, until a one-two play between the experienced Luka Modric and the young but exciting Eduardo Camavinga led to a forward bust by the latter who set up Vinicius Junior to send a powerful shot that beat compatriot Ederson Moraes to give Real Madrid the lead in the 36th minute.
This is Vinicius’ 24th goal of the season, but was Real Madrid’s first shot on target but was enough to give Los Blancos a halftime lead.
The second half saw Real Madrid starting better than they did in the first half and had the first chance of the half in the 49th minute but captain Karim Benzema fired over the bar.
Manchester City were patient and we’re able to get the equalizer in the 67th minute through Kevin De Bruyne’s brilliant outside-of-the-boot shot from outside the box.
Real Madrid got another chance in the 77th minute but Ederson punched away Benzema’s header from a Toni Kroos free kick and the Brazilian goalkeeper pulled off another great safe to deny Aurélien Tchouaméni 10 minutes later.
The match was evenly matched in terms of scores and the tie will be decided when they return on Wednesday next week for the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
