Manchester City suffered one of the most remarkable Champions League collapses as Real Madrid came back from the abyss to set up a showdown with Liverpool. Real Madrid fought back from the brink of elimination to beat Manchester City 3-1 after extra time and 6-5 on aggregate in an enthralling and dramatic Champions League semi-final.
City led 1-0 on Wednesday night and 5-3 on aggregate when Riyad Mahrez scored after 73 minutes, but Real substituted Rodrygo, equalized in the last minute of normal time and headed home, one minute later to level the tie at 5-5.
City, who thought they were going through to a second consecutive all-English Champions League final, was shell-shocked. Five minutes into extra time, Karim Benzema converted a penalty awarded for a foul on him by Ruben Dias, and Real, the record 13-times European champions, held the shell-shocked English side at bay to reach the final.
Real’s Thibaut Courtois, who was by far the busier keeper, tipped away Foden’s header with Fernandinho inches away from scoring the rebound but City could not find a goal to send it to penalties. Real Madrid will play Liverpool on May 28 in Paris, a repeat of the 2018 final in Kyiv, which the Spanish team won 3-1.
For City and manager Pep Guardiola now, the Premier League title, they sit one point above Liverpool with four games to go. It is their only target.
Report by: Jeffrey Addy