Manchester City are the defending champions and Real Madrid are the 14-time winners of this competition.
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Real Madrid and Manchester City lit up the Champions League quarter-final after producing a stunning six-goal thriller in the first leg. The contest at Santiago Bernabeu was the most-anticipated fixture of this round. Man City are the defending champions and Real are the 14-time winners of this competition. It is a shame that a fixture of this magnitude is happening this earlier in the knockout round.
Either way, this contest got both sets of supporters and the neutrals massively excited. Heading into the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, both teams were in good form. In the entertaining contest, the action kept moving from one end to another. There was so much to look forward and analyse from this fixture. At different points in the game, both sides had a lead but were not able to keep it.
There were some splendid goals scored during the 90 minutes, as the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu and supporters across the world got their money’s worth. With nothing to separate between them, the goal fest ended 3-3. Since there are no away goals rule, there is still a lot left to be played in the second leg. There are plenty of positives for both sides to take from the fixture and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola stressed the importance of his side staying “stable emotionally” against Real Madrid.
“I had the feeling it is a process. This result in the first seasons together we would lose 4-1, 5-1. We were not stable emotionally. And being stable emotionally is so important. We have an idea and we believe now in what we want to do but it is impossible to control all the time against Real Madrid. You have to stick it. In the first seasons, we would not. Now we are more stable and hopefully in the future we can do better and better,” Guardiola, quoted on the club’s website, said after the match.
He added: “It was a really good, entertaining game. Two teams that want to attack – in different ways but they want to attack. Fantastic goals – all three [of ours] and Valverde’s as well. What I love is the way we played the second half when we were 2-1 down. We controlled the game really well. It’s Madrid. You can be 3-2 and the game is over – here it is never over. One week until our next game in Manchester – it will be sold out and they will help us score one goal. We will do the rest. And the team who is best will reach the semi-finals.”
Even though City had the lead twice in the first leg, they had to settle for a draw in the end. But that does not seem to bother Guardiola too much, as he is more than happy with scoring thrice at Bernabeu. Responding to a question, he said, “It’s fine. It’s the Bernabeu, my friend. You are from England so don’t know what it means in the Bernabeu. We lost more balls than usual in the first half but it is Madrid. They have the legs and quality to make the transitions. Second half we showed personality. I cannot say more. To score three in Bernabeu is very good.”
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