The ferocity and the finesse of Manchester City threatened to overwhelm Champions League aristocrats Real Madrid in a breathless semi-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium. But, like the monstrous villain in the horror movies, the Spanish aristocrats are not dead, even when they look like being buried under an avalanche of goals.
It was pulsating and played out in a cauldron of noise at the Etihad Stadium, with the visiting supporters confined to the top tier, allowing the most vocal Blues supporters in the two corners of the South Stand to link up and create a wall of noise.
And City held a two-goal advantage on no fewer than three occasions as goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva gave them a first leg edge. But the brilliance of Karim Benzema and flying winger Vinicius Junior dragged Real Madrid back into it.
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It was a game as big, bouncing and beautiful as the two quarter-final games with Real’s nasty neighbours Atletico was fractious, edgy and devoid of grace. And the brilliant upshot is that we get to see it all again in the second leg at the Bernabeu in eight days’ time, with all to play for.
They were off to a sensational start with a goal in the second minute, created by Mahrez and finished — with a rare header — by De Bruyne. The Algerian winger has always had a sprinkling of magic dust, but he truly comes alive on these big European nights, and this was no exception.
Spotting a gap between full back and central defender, he sped into it, swerved back outside a covering defender and then weighted his cross with remarkable precision for De Bruyne’s dart. With Dani Carvajal swinging a boot wildly at the ball, the Belgian showed considerable bravery to stick his head on it, and guide the ball past Thibaut Courtois.
The fact that Real returned more than a thousand tickets for this game meant that the two main singing sections of the stadium were linked up, giving them a raucous “end” which is normally interrupted by away fans.
City’s top brass should look at doing that again, as it pumped up the volume and with the ground bouncing, City were roaring forward, pressing Real Madrid hard and forcing them into absolute panic.
Toni Kroos, usually the calmest man on the field, was reduced to a nervous wreck by the presence of Bernardo, De Bruyne and Rodri, buzzing around him like angry bees. The visitors were in danger of being swamped and after 11 minutes they were two behind.
Foden, who had looked sharp and hungry from the off, took an awkward high ball on his chest, and fed De Bruyne. He whipped a cross to Jesus, making a run to the near post. David Alaba gambled on getting a toe to it first, missed and Jesus turned expertly before finding the far corner — his fifth goal inside three days.
Real had no choice but to try to play their way back into the game, and with Ederson and John Stones — who was declared fit but looked anything but — having a couple of misunderstandings, they received plenty of encouragement.
But whenever they went forward they were open to wicked City counter-attacks, and when Bernardo and Jesus combined to free De Bruyne, charging down the centre, he superbly played Foden in on the left. On his favoured left foot, he looked odds-on to score but Courtois spread his considerable frame and forced him to drag it wide of the far post.
Zinchenko, all hustle, bustle and razor sharpness, then whistled a shot past the same post as the game opened out into a thunderous clash of two European heavyweights, exchanging blows.
Other than the shilly-shallying between Ederson and Stones, Real had created little, but Benzema did what he does best and fashioned a goal that changed the whole complexion of the tie. Ferland Mendy trusted in the France striker, slinging him a pass that offered little hope, with Zinchenko tracking his run well, but the veteran striker cunningly stuck out a leg and simply used the pace of the ball to deflect it in off the post.
Suddenly City’s lead did not look so comfortable, and Stones’ hamstring was even less so. The gamble on playing him, after Guardiola had said it was a night to play with pain, did not pay off, as he fought to cope with the pace and directness of Vinicius Junior.
He trudged off after 36 minutes, and the sight of 36-year-old Fernandinho striding on to play at right back was another concern for the Blues fans.
But the Brazil international had a fine ten minutes at the end of the first half and early in the second almost engineered a third goal, lofting a pass for Mahrez. Eder Militao looked favourite but when he missed it the winger was away, only to fire against the post, with Foden directing the rebound straight at Carvajal when the goal was wide open.
But the veteran was in the mood, and when Real tried to play out through Vinicius, he reacted quickest, intercepted and was off down the right flank. He took a look and delivered the ball perfectly onto Foden’s head - the Stockport lad could not miss.
It had been an incredible introduction for Fernandinho but Real began to test his ageing legs and lack of match action, and when a pass slipped through his legs as he tried to block, there was no catching the lightning-fast Vinicius.
Laporte might have reacted sooner, but the winger was allowed to home in on goal and slip a shot past Ederson for 3-2.
The contrast with the two nasty, edgy, messy quarter-final legs against Real’s neighbours Atletico could not have been greater; this was two great teams hammering away at each other.
City poured forward again, and opened the two-goal cushion again through Bernardo’s stunning strike. Zinchenko was up-ended by Carvajal and with one or two defenders stopping for what was a clear foul, Bernardo picked up the loose ball and took advantage, smashing a left-foot strike past a rooted Courtois.
Yet again the corpse of Real rose and fought back, although they got a big slice of luck when a cross deflected off Aymeric Laporte’s head and onto his arm, with referee Istvan Kovacs pointing to the spot and Benzema doing the rest.
City went looking for a fifth, but the tie is poised on a knife-edge, and you just wonder whether the Blues might regret half a dozen missed chances — or whether they will put on another fantastic, frenetic show in Madrid.
