7-8! Champions League Matchup: The number one favorite to win the championship is out on penalties 27 games unbeaten ended miserably
In the early morning of April 18, Beijing time, the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals ushered in a key battle, and it was also a duel between the two favorites, with the defending champion Manchester City returning to their home stadium and continuing to play against Real Madrid.
In terms of total value, Manchester City reached 1.25 billion, ranking first among clubs in the world, and Real Madrid, although its total value was "only" 1.03 billion, it had won the Champions League trophy 14 times.
Both teams are leaders in their respective leagues, with Manchester City benefiting from both Arsenal and Liverpool defeats to return to the top of the league table, with hopes of defending their title on both fronts growing. Real Madrid lead the La Liga standings with eight points and it is only a matter of time before they win the title.
Both teams have been in fairly consistent form of late, with Real Madrid going 15 games unbeaten in all competitions. Manchester City are unbeaten in 27 matches.
After the opening, both teams played quite cautiously and pressed aggressively. Ten minutes passed without a single shot from either team and the scene was a bit dreary.
In the 12th minute, Real Madrid's second shot on goal was converted into a goal. Vinicius Jr. crossed from the bottom, the Brazilian duo connected, Rodrygo's first shot was unbelievably blocked by Ederson, but Rodrygo's follow-up shot made Ederson powerless.
The young Rodrygo has already scored 20 goals in the Champions League, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul and Karim Benzema.
Five minutes later, Rodri's long pass instigated the attack, Grealish returned the pass to the limit, and the B seat kept the ball in the cross, Haaland jumped a little early, and the header in the air was high.
City's attack went wave after wave, and unlike the first leg, Haaland was not completely locked in, looking for chances in a row.
In the 19th minute, in the face of Haaland's header, Lunin had already surrendered, but the ball hit the crossbar, and the passive follow-up shot that was too late for seat B to react missed the target.
Manchester City's attacking tricks are frequent and constantly changing, and Real Madrid is gradually falling into passivity. In the 27th minute, De Bruyne bombarded the goal outside the penalty area, and Lu Ning Shuanglong went to sea to block the ball.
In the first half of the game, Real Madrid, who were playing away, temporarily led 1-0, and in the second half, Manchester City continued to comprehensively suppress Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola made a substitution, with Doku replacing Grealish.
The adjustment paid immediate dividends, and in the 74th minute, Doku's cross from the wing was blocked, and De Bruyne burst into the equaliser.
At the end of the 90 minutes, the two teams were tied 1-1 and went into extra time with an aggregate score of 3-3.
It was also the only one of the four quarter-finals in the Champions League that there was no winner in regulation time. Pep Guardiola made another substitution, with Alvarez coming on for Haaland. Neither team had too good chances in extra time and the two sides went to penalties.
In the first round, Alvarez hit and Ederson saved Modric's shot. In the second round, the penalty kick in seat B hit the middle and was directly held by Lunin, and Bellingham hit it. In the third round, Kovacic's shot was saved again, and Vazquez hit.
In the fourth round, both Foden and Nacho scored safely. In the final round, Pep Guardiola actually sent Ederson to take the penalty, Ederson scored a dead corner, and in the end, Real Madrid defeated Manchester City 4-3 on penalties and 8-7 on aggregate over two legs, ending the 27-game unbeaten run in the blue moon and advancing to the semi-finals.