Kevin De Bruyne strike earns Man City 1-1 draw at Real Madrid
Holders Real Madrid and Manchester City draw 1-1 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in Madrid.
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne made a raspy low shot from distance in the 67th minute to earn his side a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid in their first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
City dominated the game in the early stages on Tuesday, but it was Real who took the lead as Vinicius Jr scored a brilliant curling strike from the edge of the area that flew into the top right corner with Real’s first shot on target in the 36th minute.
Real got back on top in the second half and took control but it was City who scored after winning the ball high up the pitch and it worked its way to De Bruyne who fired a shot into the net to the right of the keeper.
“It was a pity that we conceded that goal,” said Madrid midfielder Luka Modric. “I think we deserved more. They had more possession but didn’t create many chances. It’s still 50-50 and we’re going into the second game with confidence.”
The second leg will be played in Manchester next week. Wednesday is the first leg of the other semi-final between Italian rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan.
Madrid beat City in the semi-finals last year and went on to win a record-extending 14th Champions League title as the English club once again fell short of European success.
Erling Haaland missed a few chances early in Tuesday’s game, but was not much of a threat throughout the game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The Norwegian came into the game after scoring 12 of City’s 26 goals in the Champions League this season, falling five short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s record 17 in a season for Madrid in 2013-14.
Vinicius Jr troubled the City defense and opened the scoring in the 36th with his seventh Champions League goal of the season. The Brazilian striker picked up a pass from Eduardo Camavinga and used one touch to set up his right-footed shot from outside the area.
City struggled to get close to Madrid’s goal, but De Bruyne found the net in the 67th with a firm one-timer from outside the area after Madrid lost possession to a poor pass down the pitch by Camavinga.
Haaland had not yet joined City when they lost 6-5 to Madrid in the semi-finals last year. Vinicius, Rodrygo and Karim Benzema together scored all Madrid’s goals that time.
Madrid are making their 11th semi-final in 13 seasons and are looking to win their sixth title in 10 years. City played in their first Champions League final two seasons ago, losing to Chelsea.
Madrid, who won the Copa del Rey title last weekend, are all but eliminated from the Spanish league and can fully focus on the semi-final against City. The English side remains in the midst of a thrilling Premier League title race.