Manchester City thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 to book a place in the Uefa Champions League final against Inter Milan, due to take place on June 10, 2023, at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.
The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at 14-time champions Real’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium, and the champions and most successful club in the history of the competition came to the Etihad hoping to secure a place in the final.
Man City took an early lead through a Bernando Silva strike in the 23rd minute, with a perfect assist from Kevin De Bruyne.
Man City kept pushing, and soon Madrid had to open up and surrender as Bernando Silva scored a header to make it 2-0 just in the 36th minute.
Man City dominated the first half and created more chances, which saw the citizens ace a 2-0 advantage before the break, diminishing Madrid’s hopes for a comeback.
Real Madrid started the second half in high gear with a good display and several attempts on goal, but all in vain. The English side had the last laugh as Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick from the left was flicked on by Manuel Akanji. His header took a big deflection off Eder Militao and fizzed past Thibaut Courtois to give the hosts a comfortable 3-0 lead against the Galacticos.
The relentless Guardiola side kept pressing in high spirit which yeilded an additional time (90+1) Julian Alvarez’s late goal after Phil Foden played a brilliant through pass past two Madrid defenders, to make it 4-0 which sealed the win.
At the final whistle, it was 5-1 on aggregate in favor of Manchester City, having drawn 1-1 in Spain and their outstanding performance in Manchester showed how Manchester City shouldn’t be overlooked in the final.
Madrid players and fans looked devastated, defeated, dejected, and disappointed by the result after the thorough beating in England.
After losing to Chelsea 1-0 in the 2021 final in Porto, Man City, who has never won a Champions League trophy, will play Inter Milan (Nerazzurri) in the final and is eager to win their first-ever European championship title.
Inter Milan has won the Champions League three times, has a higher pedigree than Man City and has equally had a good run this season in the build up to the finals.
City Club Manager Pep Guardiola had this to say: “At home, we feel incredibly comfortable with our people. I had the feeling we had a year’s worth of pain in our stomachs. Today, the pain went away. It was so painful when people say lack of character. Congratulations to the entire club, from the chairman and owner down to every person. A lot of work, we have to celebrate it. When you reach the final, you have to celebrate it. Unfortunately, we don’t have time, because Sunday we can win the Premier League.” said Guardiola
Man City, who are already on top of the Premier League table with 85 points and only four games to go, are on the verge of winning a treble if they win the Premier League, beat Manchester United in the FA Cup on June 3rd, and have to beat Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul a week later.
“A treble is inevitable with a team as wide-ranging and talented as City’s, doubled by the high motivation in the dressing room,” said Rio Ferdinand, former Manchester United skipper and now soccer pundit.
