On Wednesday evening, the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final took place. No surprises were recorded in the Spanish capital - a final between two Madrid teams will take place in the fashion capital.
At the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Madrid's Real faced Manchester City in a battle for a spot in the final. Manuel Pellegrini's team failed to create any history as the "Whites" scored the only goal without much resistance and secured their place in the tournament final.
The first match at the Etihad Stadium ended in a draw, so the match in Madrid did not start with aggressive and fast-paced football. Nevertheless, Zinedine Zidane's team took the initiative from the start, not giving City any opportunities.
In the 9th minute, City suffered a painful loss - Vincent Kompany could not continue the match due to an injury. The visitors' defense started to falter, and soon Cristiano Ronaldo made the first shot towards the opponents' goal, but the header missed the target.
Real controlled the game and in the 20th minute, they got their chance. Gareth Bale, thanks to a fantastic pass from Dani Carvajal, sent the ball into the opponent's goal from a sharp angle. However, the goal was disallowed as Fernando's touch changed the trajectory of the ball.
During the remaining time, the hosts did not face much resistance from the visitors, so they confidently controlled the game. In the 44th minute, Fernandinho tried to test Keylor Navas from 20 meters out, but his shot went wide of the goal.
The second half was quite similar. In the 52nd minute, Luka Modric had a great opportunity to score when he received an unexpected pass from G. Bale, but Joe Hart did not disappoint and saved the shot.
Just a few minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo also had his chance, but once again, J. Hart reacted to the Portuguese's shot. In the 64th minute, another serious threat arose for Man City. After a corner lifted by Toni Kroos, G. Bale made a header that hit the crossbar.
Throughout the remainder of the match, Man City needed at least one goal, but M. Pellegrini's team showed neither the desire nor the game. In the 89th minute, Sergio Aguero took a dangerous shot, but the result remained 1-0, and Z. Zidane's team secured their place in the final for the 14th time in the club's history.
The Champions League final will take place on May 28th at the legendary San Siro stadium in Milan. Two Madrid teams, Real and Atletico, will face each other. These teams already fought in the final two years ago when the Spanish vice-champions triumphed after a dramatic end.
Result:
Real Madrid 1 - 0 Manchester City (First match: 0-0, final result: 1-0)
20' [1 - 0] Fernando (own goal)
Starting lineups:
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Modrić, Kroos, Isco, Bale, Jesé, Ronaldo.
Substitutes: Casilla, Varane, Danilo, Kovačić, James, Borja, Vazquez.
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy, Fernando, Fernandinho, Toure, Navas, De Bruyne, Aguero.
Substitutes: Caballero, Mangala, Kolarov, Delph, Sterling, Bony, Iheanacho.
