A key match in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals was contested as Manchester City hosted Real Madrid. Manchester City has been full of good news recently, with Liverpool and Arsenal losing back-to-back games and dropping points, allowing Manchester City to return to the top of the Premier League and take the initiative to win the title. As long as they win their remaining six league games, Manchester City will be able to win the title. In the Champions League, Manchester City entered the quarterfinals, and the first leg played 3-3 away with Real Madrid, which is a good result. This time, Manchester City returned to their home stadium to face Real Madrid again, and as a result, Manchester City dominated the situation and were dragged into a penalty shootout, and finally lost the game and were eliminated from the competition. Pep Guardiola is out of the hunt to defend his title.
Manchester City lined up 4141 for this game. Haaland is up front. The attacking duo of Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish combined to attack. Rodri plays as a single midfielder. Kyle Walker, Akanji, Ruben Dias and Gvardiol started the game in the back four. Ederson was the starting goalkeeper. Alvarez, Doku, Ake and Stones were on the bench.
In this game, Real Madrid dominated the opponent and scored first, and the goal was scored very early. Rodrygo opened the door for Manchester City in the 12th minute. Rodrygo has been directly involved in seven goals in the Champions League this season and has five goals and two assists in three consecutive seasons. Manchester City, who were behind, had to play more aggressively. Haaland came close to scoring, only to hit the woodwork with a header. De Bruyne had a series of long-range chances but didn't score. At half-time, City were 1-0 down.
In the second half, Nacho passed his own goalkeeper Lu Ning when he returned to the defense, and when he saw that the ball was about to roll into the goal, he kicked the ball away in time to avoid an own goal. This treatment is terrifying to watch. City's efforts finally paid off in the 76th minute. It was De Bruyne who was reliable and volleyed home from close range. This goal made the game suspense again. De Bruyne then had another good chance, but this time he kicked high and missed the chance to score a brace. In the 90th minute, Pep Guardiola made a substitution, Haaland was replaced and Alvarez came on as a substitute.
The two sides played 1-1 in regulation time and had to go to extra time. There were no goals in extra time and the winner had to go through penalty shootouts. Although Luka Modric missed the first penalty, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both missed the penalty. In the end, Manchester City lost 3-4 on penalties and were eliminated 7-8 on aggregate over two legs! Real Madrid goalkeeper Lu Ning was a god in a battle, walked out of 8 divine saves, and saved 2 penalty kicks, which is amazing!