The 2021-22 Champions League season has entered the semi-final stage, the British and Spanish wars, two-two duels, Barca, Paris, Bayern and other giants have been out, manchester City vs Real Madrid dialogue, has become the only "strong dialogue".
It is not surprising that Manchester City, one of the most powerful in the whole, can reach the semi-finals. Real Madrid in the post-C Ronaldo era, can reach the semi-finals, it is somewhat unexpected.
With a total value of 950 million euros and the club ranking second in the world, Guardiola can arrange two sets of starts to compete for the Premier League and Champions League. From the group stage to the quarter-finals, except for Bruges, Manchester City did not complete a double against any team, but they were stable along the way, firmly controlling the initiative to advance.
Ancelotti entered the palace for the second time, and the two sides were purely "living together". In Bayern and Everton, they were laid off because of poor work, and Ancelotti has a good resume, but lacks competitiveness. Real Madrid, but also only put Ancelotti as a transitional candidate, Zidane has picked a son to leave, who comes the same, only to wait for the arrival of mbappe, Haaland and other new superstars, and then make plans.
From the group stage to the quarter-finals, Real Madrid's performance was good and bad. In the second round of the group stage, he lost 1:2 at home to European "super fish belly" Sharif, but fortunately, the group was relatively relaxed, and the only rival Inter also delivered 6 points, and there was no problem in qualifying from the group. In the quarter-finals, Messi, Mbappe and Neymar drew the big Paris, and the first leg was passively beaten 0:1, and the second leg conceded 1 goal, and then reversed by Benzer's hat-trick. In the quarter-finals, the first leg relied on Benzema's hat-trick to beat Chelsea 3:1 to take advantage of the promotion, but the promotion process at the Bernabeu in the second leg was shocking to Real Madrid, And Benzema was out without Modric's miraculous assist before the kill.
In the semi-finals, Manchester City vs Real Madrid, anything is possible. In terms of overall strength, Manchester City is stronger. But Real Madrid have Benzema, Manchester City does not.
In the early morning of April 27, Beijing time, the first leg of the 2021-22 Champions League semi-final match between Manchester City and Real Madrid began at the Etihad Stadium.
Prior to this, Manchester City and Real Madrid had played each other 8 times, all of which were 3 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, scoring 12 goals and conceding 12 goals, which can be described as equal. The two teams played each other twice in the international Champions Cup of a friendly nature, each beating their opponents 4:1. In the Champions League, in the group stage of the 2012-13 season, Manchester City lost 2:3 away and drew 1:1 at home; in the semi-finals of the 2015-16 season, Manchester City drew 0:0 at home and lost 0:1 away; in the 1/8 final of the 2019-20 season, Manchester City owners and aways both beat Real Madrid by a score of 2:1.
This time the Etihad fights again, Manchester City beat Real Madrid 4:3, look at the score, is a narrow victory. Full-court statistics, Manchester City 12 shots on goal 6 shots on target, Real Madrid 9 shots 5 shots on target, the possession rate of Manchester City 60%, Real Madrid 40%, this is not the first leg of the 1/8 final of the big Paris home 1:0 defeat of Real Madrid like the crushing game, but Manchester City is more likely to defeat Real Madrid by a big score.
Just two minutes into the opening, Mahrez assisted de Bruyne's header and City made a fantastic start. In the 11th minute, De Bruyne's clever pass, Alaba made a mistake, Jesus pushed the goal and City extended the score to 2:0. In the 26th minute, Mahrez missed a great opportunity to extend the score to 3-0. At the crucial moment, Real Madrid still had to rely on Benzema, and in the 33rd minute, Benzema pulled a goal back. In the 52nd minute, Foden's header broke the score to 3:1. In the 55th minute, Vinicius scored with a dragon and Real Madrid chased the score to 2:3. In the 73rd minute, Table B scored, and Manchester City 4-2 Real Madrid. In the 81st minute, Laporte sent a handball to the point, Benzema hit the penalty, and the score was fixed for Manchester City 4-3 Real Madrid.
For Real Madrid, this result is not bad, the second leg back at home, a small win can drag the game into overtime, the net win of two goals can advance. Without Benzema's scoring twice, Real Madrid lost 1:4, and it would be difficult to turn the tables. And if City had a Benzema in their squad, the number of goals scored in this game could be doubled.
Real Madrid can win one more game in La Liga to win the championship, and if they win the Champions League again, this year's Ballon d'Or award is destined for Benzema. But for the Ballon d'Or, De Bruyne had the same desire. If City win the Champions League, the Ballon d'Or is Tintin's. In the Champions League, Real Madrid relied on Benzema to carry forward, and Manchester City lacked a strong centre-forward in the squad, but it was not too much of a problem.
At the end of the game, the media, fans, bragged about Benzema's record, or Vinicius. But look: this game is won by Manchester City!