Real Madrid vs. Manchester City: 2016 Champions League, Leg 2 Score and Reaction
Real Madrid’s quest to be crowned kings of European football for an 11th time is alive and kicking, as they beat Manchester City, 1-0, at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday to book their place in the Champions League final.
After a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg, Gareth Bale’s cross deflected in off Fernando in the 20th minute to give Los Blancos a crucial advantage in the tie. After the break, the hosts continued to dominate and, despite nervy spells and missed chances, were comfortable in seeing their one-goal lead out.
Zinedine Zidane’s side will face local rivals Atletico Madrid at the San Siro on May 28, after they overcame Bayern Munich in the other semi on Tuesday.
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When it comes to this competition, there are no teams that relish these occasions quite like Real Madrid. And as we can see here, courtesy of Edu Aguirre via Bleacher Report UK, a pretty special atmosphere was building at the Bernabeu pre-match:
City fans making the trip to the Spanish capital would have been comforted to see the familiar core of Joe Hart, Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and skipper Vincent Kompany in place for this one. But they also had to endure another familiar sight, as the injury-plagued captain hobbled off the field in the ninth minute.
HLN’s Kristof Terreur summed up what has been a hugely frustrating 2015-16 for Kompany:
Eliaquim Mangala was called upon to replace the captain, and in the opening 15 minutes, City kept Real at bay pretty well. Eventually, it was a stroke of fortune for the hosts that saw the Premier League side fall behind.
Bale burst into the penalty area in the right channel and swung his weaker right foot at the ball from an acute angle. The effort flicked off Fernando and looped past Hart into the top corner, sending the Madridistas wild. Here is the goal, per World Soccer Talk's Amadi Tidiane Thiam:
"Gareth Bale. #RMCF pic.twitter.com/WZS8iWtXuT
— amadí tídíane thiam (@amadoit2) May 4, 2016"
It was a goal that put Los Blancos ahead on aggregate, and the Bernabeu was triggered into a cacophony of support. City suddenly looked a little ragged, and even with so much attacking talent on the pitch, they were unable to find a rhythm in possession.
The hosts actually came close to doubling their advantage, although Sergio Ramos’ prod past Hart from Toni Kroos’ free-kick was correctly disallowed for offside.
As the half wound down, the likes of Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Toure had barely had a sniff in the final third. It was actually Fernandinho who had their best chance of the half just a minute before the interval, as he struck the outside of the post from the left edge of the box with a fierce drive.
Even so, City would have been disappointed with their efforts. Goal’s Ben Hayward was disappointed with the game as a whole at the break:
Despite the complexion of the contest, it was Real who put the pressure on in the second period, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese Rodriguez going close. Hart then denied Luka Modric after he found acres of space in the City area, before Hart kept out a Ronaldo header and another sharp shot from the Portuguese.
The visitors were finding it difficult to stem attacks, with Bale finding a lot of space down the right flank. They were being overrun in midfield too, with Toure anonymous in an otherwise frantic battle; it was no surprise when he was withdrawn in place of Raheem Sterling after an hour.
Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett was not impressed with the efforts of the Ivory Coast international:
Los Blancos continued to fly forward, though, and City were spared again when Bale's header rattled the crossbar. Manuel Pellegrini's men were living dangerously but, somewhat remarkably, still only needed one goal to progress.
With that in mind, the City boss called on teenage forward Kelechi Iheanacho to add some vim to their attack. But the offensive structure of the team still wasn't clicking into gear as the final stages approached, with Real always possessing a greater threat in the final third.
ESPN FC's Miguel Delaney wanted to see more from the English club given Real's own frailties this term:
But an optimistic strike from Aguero was the closest the visitors came to landing a sucker punch, leaving Real to celebrate progression to the 14th European Cup final in their history.
Although this was a massive occasion, Real were in cruise control. City, usually so dangerous with their attacking forays, failed to find any spark in possession and, when off the ball, showed little appetite to hustle their illustrious opponents. Ultimately, it was pretty easy for the hosts.
The final won’t be, that’s for sure. Atletico have shown in recent Madrid derbies they do have the formula for getting over the line in these clashes and will be keen to avenge their loss to Real in the final back in 2014. Los Blancos, with their storied history in this tremendous competition, will feel confident in adding to their European legacy.
Post-match Reaction
Zidane paid tribute to his players after the final whistle and insisted there is no superior team looking ahead to the final, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:
"Zidane on virtues of hard work: "I must focus my work, as I always do. We can do important things if we work well."
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) May 4, 2016"
Ramos claimed Los Blancos did brilliantly to eliminate a strong side. "We managed to stay united and soak up the pressure to pull it off," said the defender, per BBC Sport. "We’ve eliminated a huge team in City."
Beaten City boss Pellegrini told BT Sport (h/t BBC Sport) he didn't think there was much to separate the two sides on the night and bemoaned the early loss of Kompany.
"The two teams were working with no-one making a difference," said the Chilean. "It is not the best thing changing a defender very early but I don't think we had any problems in defence, we had problems creating, same as Real Madrid. They did not create many chances."
