Man City thrash Real Madrid and reach their 2nd UCL final
Man City gave a relentless show laced with exceptional quality to beat the reigning champions Real Madrid and reach the Champions League final versus Inter Milan in Istanbul.
City has lost two last semi-finals to Real. Still, they made no error at an electrifying Etihad Stadium to now stand one foot away from claiming the title that has always been tantalisingly out of reach for Pep Guardiola’s squad.
Pep Guardiola’s Man City reach UCL final for the 2nd time:
And their performance in a supernatural first half, in particular, will stay long in the memory as the tournament winners were perplexed by City’s magnificence.
It held an ostensibly unstoppable run towards a treble of Champions League, Premier League – which can be prevailed with a win at home to Chelsea on Sunday – and the FA Cup, where they face Manchester United in the final at Wembley.
Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made heroics to save two Erling Haaland shots early in the first half. Still, he was helpless to block Bernardo Silva’s close-range shot after 23 minutes, the Portugal player scoring a looping header for the second eight minutes just before half-time.
Man City faced a few threats from Real after half-time, Ederson keeping well from David Alaba and Karim Benzema, but the opposing team could not compete effectively. The celebrations began when Manuel Akanji’s header deflected off Eder Militao 14 minutes from full time.
Substitute Julian Alvarez finished the dominant victory with a late attempt after latching onto a clever Phil Foden pass.
City will face Inter on 10 June as they look to triumph in the Champions League for the first time.
