Spanish giants will never say die
Real Madrid have done it again. The 13-time European champion produced yet another magical Champions League night at the Santiago Bernabe´u Stadium yesterday, rallying late with two goals in two minutes by substitute Rodrygo to force extra time and defeat Manchester City 3-1 to reach their first final in four seasons.
Karim Benzema, the hero of Madrid’s previous Champions League comebacks this season, converted a penalty in extra time for the decisive goal that allowed Madrid to advance 6-5 on aggregate after a 4-3 first-leg semifinal loss in which they escaped losing by a bigger margin.
Madrid had already pulled off thrilling comebacks at the Bernabe´u against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 and Chelsea in the quarter-finals.
By doing it again against City, Madrid booked a spot in the May 28 final in Paris against Liverpool, who advanced after defeating Villarreal on Wednesday.
Madrid defeated Liverpool in the 2018 final, when the Spanish powerhouse clinched a recordextending 13th title.
The result ended City’s latest quest for their first Champions League trophy. Pep Guardiola’s team lost in the final last year to Chelsea.
The crowd at the Bernabe´u kept chanting “Si se puede (Yes we can)” throughout the match, but Madrid looked beaten near the end of regulation before Rodrygo scored his goals two minutes apart.
Riyad Mahrez had put City ahead in the 73rd but the Brazilian forward equalised in the 90th and got the goahead goal with a header a minute into stoppage time.
A few minutes before Rodrygo’s first goal, Ferland Mendy had saved Madrid from conceding a second goal that could have sealed City’s qualification by clearing the ball in front off the goal line while tumbling backward to keep an attempt by Jack Grealish from going in.
Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut
Courtois moments later saved a Grealish shot with the bottom of his boot.
Madrid carried all the momentum into extra time and Benzema gave the hosts the 3-1 lead by converting a 95th-minute penalty kick after he was fouled inside the area.
It was the 15th Champions League goal this season for Benzema, the competition’s leading scorer. It was his 10th goal in the knockout stage alone, tying Cristiano Ronaldo’s record in a single season.
Benzema had scored hat-tricks when Madrid rallied against both PSG and Chelsea. Madrid came back against PSG after losing the first leg in Paris and conceding early in the second leg at the Bernabe´u.
Against Chelsea, Madrid won the first match 3-1 but was down 3-0 in the second leg before rallying in extra time, when Benzema again scored the deciding goal.
Yesterday’s game started tighter than last week’s back-and-forth first leg in Manchester, but City eventually opened the scoring when Mahrez found the top corner with a firm left-footed one-timer from inside the area following a pass by Bernardo Silva, who attracted the Madrid defenders before feeding the ball to his team-mate.
Mahrez had scored both of City’s goals in the second leg of last season’s semifinal against PSG. The Algerian became the first City player to scored seven times in a single Champions League campaign.
Madrid had scored 22 goals in its last eight games in all competitions but struggled to get past the City defence.
Benzema set up Rodrygo’s first goal from inside the area, and Marco Asensio flicked Dani Carvajal’s cross for the Brazilian’s stunning header in stoppage time.
Rodrygo had scored twice when Madrid clinched the Spanish league title in advance at the Bernabe´u on Sunday, when celebrations went late into the evening with players and coach Carlo Ancelotti asking for the fans’ support against Man City.
Fans had already given players a spectacular welcome as the team’s bus arrived before the match yesterday, crowding the streets around the Bernabe´u.