On the morning of April 18, Man City drew 1-1 with Real in 120 minutes, then lost 3-4 in the penalty shootout of the quarter-final second leg of the C1 Cup.
At home, Man City created a one-sided match with 64% ball possession. The home team took 34 shots, more than 4 times more than Real (8 shots) but only scored one goal.
Pep Guardiola’s army was conceded by Real in the 12th minute. From an impressive deployment on the right wing, Vinicius Jr. stretched just enough for Rodrygo to score twice in a row, defeating Ederson.
After having the advantage, Real moved the entire squad back to their home field to defend. On the other side of the front line, Man City continuously stuffed the ball into the away team’s restricted area but had to wait until the 76th minute to equalize. Antonio Rudiger cleared the ball after Jeremy Doku’s cross, creating an opportunity for Kevin De Bruyne to kick in from close range and beat goalkeeper Lunin.
Kevin De Bruyne’s goal was not enough to help Man City advance.
Man City had nearly 20 minutes of the second half and 30 minutes of extra time but could not score more goals, thereby being dragged into a penalty shootout by Real, where the difference in squad strength no longer had much meaning.
In the lucky penalty shootout, Man City had the advantage when Luka Modric missed in the first round. However, right after that, two home players, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic, failed. In the next 4 rounds, Jude Bellingham, Lucas, Nacho and Rudiger all performed successfully, thereby helping Real win the final score 4-3 in the “shootout” series. In the first leg, the two teams drew 2-2 at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid’s “DNA C1” defeated the strength of Man City. Coach Carlo Ancelotti and his team won the right to enter the semi-finals against Bayern Munich. In the remaining semi-finals, PSG will clash with Dortmund.
Meanwhile, being eliminated from the C1 Cup will help Man City focus on two equally important arenas, the Premier League and FA Cup.
Matches of the C1 Cup – Champions League are broadcast live on FPT Play.
Minh Tu