David Hytner was at the Bernabeu this evening. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
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Jack Grealish talks to BT, as the City fans still in the stadium serenade him with a chorus of Super Jackie Grealish. “I loved it, man … these are the nights … you can have a few nerves, but these are the nights you play football for … it’s like a dream come true … we have a perfect balance of experience … youngsters who are world class … we just have quality … I’ve never felt so confident going onto the pitch and having these players around me … it was a good battle, I really enjoyed it … I’ve never had cramp before! … De Bruyne’s goal was unbelievable … you wouldn’t choose it to fall to anyone else … at the Etihad we feel unstoppable … we came here to try to win … it shows our character … in the end I think it was a fair result.”
The City fans also have a song for BT pundit Rio Ferdinand, the lyrics of which are not suitable for a non-specialist website. Poor Rio! He’s just doing his job!
Pep Guardiola speaks to BT. “When we were better they score, when they were better we score … it was a tight, tight game … we had good moments … sometimes it was difficult … but yeah, 1-1, it’s a final next Wednesday with our people … it is so demanding, they are so good, they have experience and quality … but now we travel to Manchester and we will see what we can do better … hopefully we can learn to defend better and attack better.”
So much for our in-game speculation regarding John Stones and the corner that never was. Turns out a livid Carlo Ancelotti was clearly shouting “The ball is out! The ball is out!” at the referee after Kevin De Bruyne’s equaliser. Bernardo Silva hooked a loose ball back infield from the touchline down the City right, and it’s fair to say that the camera angles shown on BT are inconclusive. However, there were eight City passes between that disputed touch and the goal, plus an interception and a sloppy pass out from the back by Eduardo Camavinga. De Bruyne was also afforded an absurd amount of time and space to line up his shot. There’s cause and effect, and chaos theory, but this one’s on Real.
Rodri speaks to BT. “It is always very tough here … the lads were incredible … they have a lot of quality … the first chance they had they scored an incredible goal … but we kept in the game and stayed with our philosophy … Kevin found the goal and we struggled to keep the ball but at this stadium it is normal … the effort of the lads was incredible … Kevin is a massive player for us … he helped us in the moment we most needed it … he gave us the confidence to keep pushing … it was a good result of us … we knew no matter what happens here it is not the end … we will need the people to support us.”
Both teams embrace each other warmly, though Carlo Ancelotti continues to lose his usual studied supercool with the referee. He’s arguing that a corner that never was led to Kevin De Bruyne’s spectacular equaliser midway through the second half … but that’s a bit of a stretch. As good as Vinicius Junior’s first-time strike was, Manchester City were the better team in the first half, then in control for most of a slightly more balanced second, and thoroughly deserved to come away with a draw at the very least. Given the pattern of the match, and with the second leg to come on home turf, they’ll be by far the happier side this evening. The reigning champions will have to put on a performance next week if they’re to keep hold of their crown; City will surely be confident of getting the job done at the Etihad and making it to Istanbul.
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FULL TIME: Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City
The spoils shared after two outrageously good long-distance strikes … but with the second leg to come next week in Manchester, it’s advantage City.
90 min +3: Nacho takes a shot from the edge of the D. It’s deflected high into the air, but Ederson claims under pressure. That should be it!
90 min +2: Camavinga dribbles into the City box from the left, but his low shot-cum-cross can’t make its way through a thicket of players.
90 min +1: A long ball nearly sends Haaland clear down the middle. Not quite.
90 min: Benzema tees up Tchouameni, 25 yards out. He doesn’t have much time to think about it, and sends a no-backlift screamer towards the top right. Ederson saves marvellously, and nothing comes of the resulting corner. There will be three added minutes.
88 min: City continue to hold their shape. This has been a very impressive performance during the closing stretch.
87 min: Dias batters a clearing header to the halfway line. City have been extremely solid since the equaliser.
87 min: Modric’s delivery is uncharacteristically average, but Rudiger battles down the right to win a corner and keep the pressure on. Before it can be taken, Modric makes way for Nacho.
86 min: Vinicius Jr hasn’t given this up. First he flicks the ball over his head out on the left touchline, an outrageous feat of skill, then gets in the road of Silva, drawing a foul just to the left of the D. Silva goes into the book, and Modric prepares to take the free kick.
84 min: Kroos makes way for Tchouameni.
83 min: Thinking aloud, but if the assistant referee didn’t spot the ball clipping off Stones’ hand, and flagged for a goal kick, then VAR couldn’t intervene to award a corner, even though they’d have seen how things panned out on replay. VAR could only get involved to award a spot kick. Unfortunate, but them’s the breaks, and it’s a stretch to say it all led to the goal, which happened quite a bit later.
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81 min: Real make the first change of the evening, Asensio coming on for Rodrygo.
79 min: Camavinga is booked for an ungainly lunge at Rodri. “Perhaps Ancelotti got that yellow card for raising an eyebrow dangerously high at the sight of that DeBruyne strike,” quips Justin Kavanagh, no doubt arching his own facial furniture upon delivery of that zinger.
78 min: Camavinga glides in from the left and purchases a fairly cheap foul from Silva. A free kick just to the left of centre. Kroos curls it towards the far stick. Benzema rises over Dias and plants a header goalwards, but Ederson blocks well and City clear their lines. The tension is palpable.
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76 min: One thing we know is certain: that equaliser has taken the air out of the Bernabeu. Well, out of most of it: Blue Moon drifts down from the City section.
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74 min: Ah, here’s why Ancelotti might have been miffed. “The De Bruyne goal ended a spell of Man City possession they should never have had,” argues Richard Jeffreys. “The claims for handball on Stones were obviously a stretch, but it clearly should’ve been a Real Madrid corner. Don’t blame Ancelotti for being ticked off.” To be fair, a couple of minutes passed between the incidents, such as they are … but you can make the case. Both opinions and arguments will be available elsewhere on the internet.
72 min: Alaba looks for the top-right corner but that’s always going wide and high.
71 min: Gundogan is booked for flipping Benzema into the air, just to the right of the City box. Free kick in a very dangerous area here.
69 min: While the celebrations go on, the normally ice-cool Ancelotti is booked for giving the referee the what-for about some perceived slight or other. It’s not clear that anything egregious went on just before the goal – Kroos dived over De Bruyne’s leg (no foul) while a ball was hooked back into play from the very edge of the right touchline (it didn’t go out) - but Real aren’t happy. There didn’t seem to be anything to complain about.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City (De Bruyne 67)
Anything Vinicius Jr can do, De Bruyne can as well! Real ship possession a couple of times near their own box. They pay the price when Grealish dribbles in from the left, Gundogan tees up De Bruyne on the edge of the D, and De Bruyne sends a power curler into the bottom left. Courtois no chance! What a goal!
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65 min: Now it’s Vinicius Jr’s turn to skedaddle his way out of heavy traffic, out on the left. He crosses towards nobody in particular, but the ball clips off Stones’s knuckles. Real scream for a penalty, but that’s another overly ambitious shout.
64 min: Rodrygo picks up possession in a tight area down the right, and springs out of trouble wonderfully, sashaying past Akanji with ease and winning a corner. City deal with it but they continue to find themselves pressed back.
62 min: Valverde miscontrols a left-wing cross in the City box. The ball pings up onto Grealish’s arm. Real claim for a penalty, but neither referee nor VAR shows interest, correctly so. City aren’t exactly hanging on, but Real are enjoying their best period of sustained pressure.
61 min: Rodri takes a cynical fistful of Vinicius Jr’s shirt, and is fortunate not to go into the book.
60 min: From that one, Kroos bagatelles a shot through a crowded box. The ball breaks to Vinicius, whose cross from the left is blocked out by Stones. Yet another corner … from which Valverde blazes well over the bar from distance. Real are beginning to turn up the heat in search for a second goal. In the meantime, while I’m not sure our half-time correspondent Daire McCafferty was in the market for a serious answer to his waterproof-sheet-based email, he’s got one, courtesy of Mark Bennett: “The tarpaulin is there to cover up the workmen entrance - apparently it will be there until the stadium rebuild is complete as it’s the only way they can get in and out of the ground.”
58 min: Vinicius jinks in from the right and sends an awkward shot bobbling wide left of goal, via a deflection. From the resulting corner, Rodrygo aims for the top right. That effort’s deflected as well. Another corner.
56 min: De Bruyne picks up possession 25 yards out and attempts to steer a sidefoot into the bottom left. There’s no oomph behind the shot and it’s an easy smother for Courtois. City soon come again, though, Haaland sent into the Real box down the left channel by Gundogan. Haaland shoots from an angle but Alaba slides in to block out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece. What a block that was. Haaland did little wrong, but Alaba was determined not to let him pass.
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54 min: Rodri nibbles away at Rodrygo before barging into Vinicius Jr. There’s still an edge to this game.
52 min: Silva, out on the right touchline, whips a first-time pass infield to release De Bruyne down the channel. He enters the box and he’s one on one with Courtois. He slams a low shot across the keeper’s body, but Courtois sticks out an arm to block brilliantly. Rudiger hooks the rebound clear, then the flag goes up correctly for offside.
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51 min: From the resulting corner, Vinicius dribbles into the City box down the left and tries to nip past Rodri, but the City man stands firm and eventually draws a foul from the attacker.
50 min: Carvajal, Vinicius Jr and Benzema triangulate at speed down the inside-left channel. Suddenly Benzema bursts into the box and aims for the top-left corner from a tight angle. Stones deflects over the bar.
49 min: Real make like City and stroke the ball around patiently.
47 min: Gundogan slips a cute pass down the left hoping to release Silva into the box. Carvajal slides the ball out for a corner that City play short. De Bruyne exchanges passes with Grealish before whipping low into the arms of Courtois.
Real get the second half underway. No half-time changes.
Half-time entertainment. It’s not just hotting up in the Champions League; the WSL is coming to a business-end boil as well! Join Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack and the panel for the latest edition of Women’s Football Weekly.
Half-time postbag. “I think Real Madrid have confirmed Churchill’s aphorism: ‘There are lies, damn lies and statistics.’ Man City had 72 percent of possession but Real have weathered the storm and scored a brilliant counter-attacking goal. The referee has been typically indulgent with regard to Real’s fouls, it has to be said” – Colum Fordham
“Rudiger knew exactly what he was doing there, same as when he broke De Bruyne’s eye socket” – Paul Ruffley
“I’ve not much of a memory, so I’ve been reliably informed, but I’m fairly sure that Real Madrid are no strangers to teams turning up at the Bernabeu and ‘bossing it’ before leaving empty handed. They don’t give a monkey’s and let’s be fair, why should they?” – Danny Whybrow
“Do you think Madrid plan to ever install seating in that lower tier behind the goals or just leave it as a tarpaulin feature?” - Daire McCafferty
“Hope City bring Haaland on for the second half” – Peter Littley
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HALF TIME: Real Madrid 1-0 Manchester City
The whistle goes before things spill over. On the touchline, Pep berates an official, presumably unhappy with the recent challenges made by Carvajal and Kroos. He’ll not be happy with the scoreline either, obviously. City have been the better side on balance, but Real Madrid are what Real Madrid do, and what a goal Vinicius Junior scored. Should be a spicy second half!
45 min +2: This is getting a bit wild all of a sudden. Gundogan prepares to race into space down the right, and is brought to ground by a ludicrous Kroos high-kick across his waist. Kroos quite rightly goes into the book; he could easily have seen red for that.
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45 min: Carvajal and Grealish chase a ball down the left. It’s heading out for a goal kick. Carvajal needlessly barges into the back of Grealish and sends him off towards the advertising hoardings. It’s a saucy one, and Grealish reacts by swiping at his opponent, who goes down himself. The referee reminds both players of their age – double figures! – and the play restarts.
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44 min: Modric traps a ball that had been blootered upfield with a cock of the leg and such elegance that the entire stadium applauds warmly. Literally brought to heel.
42 min: Silva makes good down the right and rolls a dangerous ball through the six-yard box. Grealish can’t reach it, neither can Haaland, though a corner is the next best thing. Nothing comes of that set piece. A decent response to falling behind and momentarily losing the collective head, though.
41 min: City settle things down a little with some patient passing in the middle of the park. They slowly edge their way upfield and De Bruyne crosses from the left. But there’s nobody in the centre to take advantage.
39 min: What a strike that was, though! An absolute net-ripping pearler.
38 min: Walker clatters into the back of Vinicius Jr and allows the hosts to launch another attack from the resulting free kick. Nothing comes of it, but all of a sudden, City look a little ragged and rattled. Far too early to be losing sight of the bigger picture.
37 min: So much for keeping the Bernabeu quiet. Real Madrid in the European Cup, folks.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Manchester City (Vinicius Jr 36)
City have been the better side, but look at the score now! Out of very little, Camavinga and Modric combine down the left. The former drifts infield and rolls across for Vinicius Jr, who takes a touch before launching a rising missile into the top left from 25 yards! Ederson had no chance whatsoever! What a goal!
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34 min: Valverde bursts elegantly down the right flank and curls into the box for Benzema, who can’t bring the ball down without using his arm. Stones did well to hassle Benzema into that mistake. But what a fine break upfield from Valverde, who up until this point has been pretty quiet.
33 min: Camavinga wins a corner off Walker down the left. Walker’s fuming, but he channels that ire to blast a clearing header upfield when Modric swings the ball into the mixer.
31 min: Gundogan’s good to continue. After the restart, Rodrygo crosses from the right, but Vinicius is never winning an aerial duel with Stones and Dias in the middle.
30 min: Everyone’s happy that they can take on some liquid while Gundogan gets the once-over, though. It’s hot and humid in Madrid.
29 min: Gundogan comes off second best in a challenge with Rudiger, whose no-nonsense/cynical style as a Chelsea player did for De Bruyne in the 2021 final. City aren’t happy with the non-award of a foul. Real aren’t happy a counter attack is stopped by the referee’s whistle, so Gundogan can get some treatment.
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27 min: Benzema sticks out a leg to stop an in-flow Grealish, and turns his ankle while doing so. After a brief pause, the Real striker’s good to continue.
26 min: City have enjoyed 72 percent possession so far. The Real fans are not used to this sort of carry-on.
25 min: … so after all that, City nearly gift Real the opener! Rodri allows Vinicius to romp away down the left. Vinicius whips a low cross into the six-yard box. Benzema prepares to bundle home, only for Dias to slide in and hook clear, just in time! That got the volume back up all right.
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24 min: Kroos plays a long pass forward to nobody in particular. The ball ends up with Ederson. Factor out the whistling, and City have rendered the Bernabeu a library.
23 min: City are currently strutting around like they own the place. No mean feat at the Bernabeu. An awful lot of dissatisfied whistling from the home fans, their team yet to get going this evening.
21 min: Walker makes good down the right and wins another corner off Camavinga. Modric heads clear. City are well on top here.
19 min: Stones drives down the inside-right channel before being clipped by Camavinga. Instead of awarding a free kick just to the right of the D, the referee waves play on, even though there’s no real advantage. Gundogan curls a weak shot over from distance before giving the referee a mouthful. On the touchline, Pep isn’t too happy either.
18 min: Rodrygo cuts in quickly from the right before slipping a ball down the channel for Benzema. For a second, it looks like a huge chance developing for Real, but Ederson has read the danger well and comes to the edge of his box to smother before Benzema can reach the pass. Real bare their teeth for the first time this evening.
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16 min: Haaland gains a yard down the inside-left channel and fizzes a low shot goalwards from a tight angle. Easy for Courtois. Then another phase of attack, and Grealish reaches the byline on the left before standing one up for Haaland at the back stick. A powerful header is claimed by the keeper. City are beginning to ask some serious questions.
14 min: Rodri takes a speculative whack from 25 yards. No pressure in a big pocket of space. It’s heading into the bottom left, and Courtois sees it late, but tips it around the post. Another City corner, this time from the left. De Bruyne hits it long. Silva hooks it back into the middle. Carvajal and Haaland collide, six yards out. Haaland falls and makes a half-hearted claim for a penalty that’s never going to be awarded.
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12 min: Vinicius attempts to spin Walker and beat his man in a footrace down the left. Walker gives no ground. City smoothly triangle their way back out of their final third. The visitors in confident mood during these early exchanges.
11 min: Grealish seems to be fine now, that early injury scare nothing more. He dribbles in from the left but can’t complete a one-two with De Bruyne. Real clear their lines.
9 min: Silva drives down the inside-right channel and cuts back for De Bruyne, who sends an instant drive towards the bottom-right corner. Courtois parries, then the flag goes up for an offside before any City player can get to the rebound. City will be pleased with their start … especially as soon after they win another corner down the right. This one’s wasted. But still. The home fans whistling quite a lot as a result of City’s dominant opening.
7 min: City are pressing Real back in their final third. The ball pinballs to Haaland on the edge of the box, but the striker can’t make enough space for a shot, and Kroos sees him off.
5 min: Vinicius tears down the left but can’t find Benzema in the middle. Dias clears, but only after blootering his first clearance into Grealish, who is moving a bit better now. Up the other end, Silva slips De Bruyne into some space down the right. De Bruyne wins the first corner of the match off Camavinga. Nothing comes of the set piece. An intense first few minutes.
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3 min: Rudiger wrestles Haaland to the ground in the midfield and gives the City striker some beneficial advice while doing so. A feisty start to the game.
2 min: … but Grealish took a knock in making that challenge on Rodrygo, and isn’t moving too smoothly.
30 sec: Grealish hangs out a leg to cynically block Rodrygo, and a fussier referee might have laid down a marker. But no yellow card. We play on.
Manchester City get the ball rolling. “That City line-up looks suspiciously sensible and balanced,” groans Matt Dony. “What’s Pep playing at? Where’s the unnecessary Big-European-Game insanity going to come from? Can we expect Haaland to slot in at right back? Are Stones and Grealish going to be swapping places every ten minutes? Any chance we’ll see Ederson as a false nine?” Doesn’t look like it. But there’s always next week.
The teams are out! Real Madrid in their meringue whites, Manchester City in their Milan-influenced red and black. The Bernabeu atmosphere blistering hot despite the clouds in the sky. Both teams 180 minutes away from Istanbul! We’ll be off in a couple of minutes, after a quick blast of Zadok the Priest (Version), but in the meantime, here’s Justin Winter with an email that doesn’t end up where it looks to be inexorably heading: “Henry Kissinger said of the Iran-Iraq war ‘It’s a pity they both can’t lose.’ This match is a classic Kissinger derby. One side forever tainted by its association with Franco, the other by its association with the Gallagher brothers.”
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Pep Guardiola speaks to BT Sport. “A semi-final of the Champions League is already a challenge in itself … of course there are two good teams … we need a good performance … we have to play two good games … last season we did two good games but we were not able to make the final … every minute has to be played with a high level … in the latter stages, every team has a special threat, hopefully we can use it more than them.”
Pre-match mood setting. Rodri bullishly claims …
… however the good doctor warns …
… but on balance a World Cup winner suggests …
Pre-match postbag. “This should be a good one (cue 0-0 draw). But it might just come down to which keeper is better today. And we have all seen Courtois do Courtois things. Advantage Madrid” – Joe Pearson
“Haaland has many attributes, but one that I feel is overlooked is his ability to hang on the last defender and still rarely be flagged or VAR’d offside. As a Chelsea fan he reminds me of an anti-Werner” – Brendan Large
“Just as everyone overestimates Pep and underestimates Ancelotti, so the same can be said concerning Real and City. Best team in the world?! Please, who are the champions of the Champions League?! Who knocked City out? City are chokers. They cannot win, even with Haaland” – Jeff Sax
“I don’t think this has ever happened before, but this year the Champions League semi-final clashes with the semi-final of that other Pan-European contest that matters more than it should, Eurovision. With luck, both competitions will feature the highest and lowest of emotions, and somebody becoming a legend forever either through outrageous talent or a colossal eff-up” – Kári Tulinius
Tonight’s coaches have a scarcely believable six Champions League titles between them. You want historical context? We got historical context!
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CARLO ANCELOTTI (Milan, Real Madrid)
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Bob Paisley (Liverpool), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
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Jose Villalonga (Real Madrid), Luis Carniglia (Real Madrid), Bela Guttmann (Benfica), Helenio Herrera (Internazionale), Miguel Munoz (Real Madrid), Nereo Rocco (Milan), Stefan Kovacs (Ajax), Dettmar Cramer (Bayern Munich), Brian Clough (Nottingham Forest), Ernst Happel (Feyenoord, Hamburg), Arrigo Sacchi (Milan), Ottmar Hitzfeld (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich), Vicente del Bosque (Real Madrid), Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), Jose Mourinho (Porto, Internazionale), PEP GUARDIOLA (Barcelona), Jupp Heynckes (Real Madrid, Bayern Munich)
… and that’s not counting the three titles they won as players, Ancelotti winning two for Milan, Pep one for Barca. Yep, this is a summit meeting all right.
¡Fútbol! ¡Infierno sangriento! A reminder of what happened here last year. Like anybody really needs reminding.
Real Madrid make two changes to the XI that started the 2-1 Copa Del Rey final victory over Osasuna on Saturday. Luka Modric replaces Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield, the France international dropping to the bench, while at the back Antonio Rudiger stands in for the suspended Eder Militao.
Manchester City make six changes to their starting XI after the closer-than-it-should-have-been 2-1 victory over Leeds on Saturday. Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish are in. Aymeric Laporte, Julian Alvarez, Rico Lewis, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden drop to the bench, while Nathan Ake is injured.
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The teams
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga, Valverde, Kroos, Modric, Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
Subs: Lunin, Lopez, Vallejo, Nacho, Hazard, Asensio, Odriozola, Vazquez, Tchouameni, Ceballos, Mariano.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji, Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva, Grealish, Haaland.
Subs: Ortega, Carson, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Mahrez, Foden, Palmer, Lewis.
Referee: Artur Dias (Portgual).
📋✅ Our starting 𝗫𝗜!
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 9, 2023
🆚 @ManCity#UCL pic.twitter.com/zdEMNJ6ZCO
Tonight's line-up! 🌟
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 9, 2023
XI | Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Carson, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Mahrez, Foden, Palmer, Lewis#ManCity pic.twitter.com/nIkzsU6Q5q
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Preamble
The reigning and 14-time European champions against the team widely recognised as the best in the world right now: shame it’s not the final, right? Well, perhaps. But on the other hand, this way we get twice as much summit-meeting fun. The first leg kicks off at the Bernabéu is at 8pm BST, 9pm local. It’s Modric, Benzema and Vinicius Junior versus De Bruyne, Silva and Haaland! It’s on!
