Real Madrid held at home in six-goal thriller against Man City
Real Madrid and Manchester City slugged out a thrilling 3-3 draw in a rip-roaring Champions League quarter-final clash under the Bernabeu stadium roof on Tuesday, leaving the tie between the last two holders of the trophy wide open for the second leg.
Federico Valverde salvaged a draw for Real late on after City had taken a 3-2 lead with sumptuous strikes from Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol following a Ruben Dias own goal and Rodrygo strike that gave the hosts a halftime lead in Spain's capital.
“It was entertaining, (a game) that dignifies the competition, with two teams attacking. The three (second half) goals were incredible. We took the lead but they equalised ... and that's football,” said City manager Pep Guardiola.
The noisy home crowd had been left stunned after two minutes when City midfielder Bernardo Silva took advantage of a one-man wall to drill a low free kick from 40 metres just inside Andriy Lunin's post to give the visitors the lead.
It was a schoolboy error by the Ukrainian who seemed to have been waiting for a cross and left his right side unguarded. He got a hand on the ball but could not keep it out.
To make things worse, Real midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, playing as an emergency centre back, was shown a yellow card for the foul on Jack Grealish that led to the goal and will miss the return leg in Manchester next Wednesday.
Without midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who was left on the bench after illness, City tried to make the most of Real's sloppy start and could have extended their lead.