Real Madrid vs Manchester City was always going to be blockbuster – but last night saw the last two European champions go hammer and tongs with one another in an all-time classic.
The script made for a belter, too: six different scorers, with the pendulum swinging both ways. First Manchester City went one up, then Real Madrid came back to make it 2-1 in the blink of the eye. City then made it 3-2, before Los Blancos equalised: you could barely stop for breath.
But amid all the superstars on show and the score teetering one way or the other, there was one stat that proved just how good this one was.
Expected Goals (xG) aren't everyone's cup of tea, but xG Philosophy on X (fomerly Twitter), posted that despite each side scoring three goals, Real had an xG of just 0.70, with Man City managing just 0.88.
Less than one each – six goals from just 1.58 expected chance of scoring. That's three times less likely than two penalties going in – and shows precisely how good the goals were, with several screamers in just one match.
Yes, neither team had their first-choice goalkeeper between the sticks: Andriy Lunin for the home side, Stefan Ortega for the away. Josko Gvardiol scored with his weaker foot, Bernardo Silva fooled 14-time European champions with a simple misdirect on a free-kick, while Phil Foden took the Man of the Match and arguably the goal of the game, with a worldie.
The best game in the Champions League for years? It's a toughie. This was just a first leg, after all, so the drama of Liverpool or Tottenham coming from behind to win a tie wasn't there. The 2022 World Cup final was a 3-3 that carried more weight behind it than this fixture – was this game better than that one, simply because the goals were better?
FourFourTwo reckons it might be, actually, when you consider the quality of the talent on show, as much as the show itself. As a standalone 90 minutes of contextless football, this one might not be bettered this season, at least.
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