Madrid Stun extra time in Manchester City to reach Champion league final
Sports
Karim Benzema scored an extra-time penalty as Real Madrid pulled off another astonishing comeback
MANCHESTER (ONLINE) - Karim Benzema scored an extra-time penalty as Real Madrid pulled off another astonishing comeback in the Champions League to stun Manchester City 3-1 on Wednesday and book a showdown with Liverpool in the final.
According to sources, City looked certain to go through when Riyad Mahrez put them 1-0 up and 5-3 ahead on aggregates but Rodrygo, on as a substitute, scored an incredible late double, his goals in the 90th and 91st minutes sending the tie to extra time.
With City still reeling, Real Madrid landed the knock-out blow as Benzema earned and then converted a spot-kick to snatch a 6-5 win on aggregate, with another remarkable fight back at the Santiago Bernabeu added to the club’s long list of magical European nights.
This season, Madrid had already performed the unlikeliest of rescue acts to defeat both Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 and Chelsea in the quarter-finals but, given the stakes and how close they were to defeat, this one against Manchester City was surely the most dramatic.
Like PSG and Chelsea before them, City will wonder how they emerged as losers from a match they largely controlled and there will be fresh scrutiny too on coach Pep Guardiola, who, for all his success, goes another year without leading City to the European glory they so crave.
City’s collapse would have been almost inexplicable had it been against anyone other than Real Madrid, who advances to their 17th final in the competition. They are a victory against Liverpool away from lifting a 14th European Cup.
"Another magic night from the kings of Europe," read a banner draped over the stand at one end before kick-off but for most of normal time, this match failed to live up to the seven-goal thriller at the Etihad Stadium last week.
Real Madrid was the more assertive early on, with Benzema given a couple of difficult opportunities that only he, in his current form, might have expected to convert. Instead, he headed over and fired high.
In between, Luka Modric and Rodri clashed over a Casemiro challenge and then City stepped forward, squeezing Madrid into errors as Kevin De Bruyne hit Thibaut Courtois from distance before the goalkeeper had to make a smart reaction save from Bernardo Silva.
Real Madrid survived and then improved before the break, Modric causing a roar of satisfaction when he outsprinted De Bruyne to cut off a counter.
Probably their best chance came within seconds of the restart as Dani Carvajal found space down the right but Vinicius Junior shot wide at the back post.
City was on the back foot as space opened up for Modric in the box but a poor touch made his finish difficult. A sloppy Kyle Walker pass set Casemiro loose but the weaving Vinicius was unable to find a way through.
