Champions League: Real Madrid Beat Man City To Set Up Liverpool Clash

Real Madrid fought back from the brink of elimination to beat Manchester City 3-1 after extra time and 6-5 on aggregate in a dramatic Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.

City led 1-0 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate when Riyad Mahrez scored after 73 minutes but Real substitute Rodrygo equalised in the last minute of normal time and headed home one minute later to level the tie at 5-5.

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 Madrid will play Liverpool on May 28 in Paris, a repeat of the 2018 final in Kyiv which the Spanish team won 3-1.

With Real fast running out of ideas, Bernardo Silva broke through the middle of their defence and laid the ball off for Mahrez to finish and City looked certain to stay on course to win the trophy for the first time.

But as they did against Paris St Germain in the round of 16 and Chelsea in the quarter-finals, Real conjured up the magic they required.

Rodrygo slotted in from close range to give them a lifeline and the Brazilian headed home to send the Bernabeu crowd into raptures before Benzema completed the turnaround.

“We were close. We were close. But in the end we could not reach it,” Guardiola told BT Sport.

“We didn’t play our best, but it is normal, a semi-final, the players feel the pressure. Football is unpredictable, it is a game like this. We have to accept it.” (Reuters)

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