On Wednesday, Manchester City produced a sensational performance to dethrone the defending champions Real Madrid to advance to the Finals of the 2022-2023 Champions League. It was a flurry of goals from Manchester City Team as Bernardo Silva struck twice in the first half followed by an unfortunate own-goal by Eder Militao. Julian Alvarez chipped in during extra time as Manchester claimed a thumping 4-0 win over Madrid at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City, who have been on the top of the ranks since the middle stages of the 2022-2023 season brought in their A-game to defeat the 14-time European champions Real Madrid who were clearly struggling to keep up with the pace of the in form City Boys. This was the second leg encounter between the two teams, having drawn the first match 1-1. Manchester City’s 4-0 victory at Etihad meant that they have won 5-1 on aggregate, pusing them to face Inter Milan in next month’s final.
The match began and Manchester City showed why they are the top ranked team in the league right now as they made several attempts to score within the first 20 minutes of the match. Rodri tried to get City’s first goal in the 8th minute, but the shot went wide of the right. Erling Haaland tried to push in two promising headers in the 13th and 21st minutes, but both were thwarted by Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Star of the show Bernardo Silva scored the first goal for his team, in the 23rd when he fired a left-footed shot from inside the penalty box past Courtois. The closest Real Madrid got to scoring a goal in the match was when Toni Kroos made a promising effort to equalize in the 35th minute. However, his shot hit the woodwork and Real Madrid never really got so close to scoring in the entire match.
A couple of minutes later, Silva scored the second goal to give Manchester City a commanding lead over their opponents at 37 minutes. He was at the right place at the right time to head in a rebound shot from Ilkay Gundogan into the right side of the net. City’s 2-0 lead within the first half left Real Madrid struggling to recover.
In the second half, disaster struck Madrid in the 76th minute when Eder Militao accidentally turned the ball into Real’s net following De Bruyne’s free kick attaempt. The unfortunate own goal further extended City’s advantage. Ultimately, Real Madrid did technically score a goal, however, it was the City Boys who benefited from the own goal.
As the match entered extra time, substitute Julian Alvarez scored the closing goal of the match at 90+1 minutes, propelling Manchester City to a convincing victory to book their place in the Champions League final where they will take on the in-form Inter Milan side. Silva’s sublime performance the combined team effort helped Manchester City register a resounding 4-0 win over Real Madrid. It would be interesting to see if they can maintain this fire in the finals or will it be the Milanos who have the last laugh!
