Madrid Bow Out Of Champions League

Benzema netted the Madrid goal as the team signed off for the season in Manchester.

Real Madrid failed to overcome Manchester City as they bowed out of the Champions League. The night couldn’t have got off to a worst start, with Gabriel Jesús dispossessing Raphaël Varane inside the box and squaring for Raheem Sterling to send the ball past Thibaut Courtois with just nine minutes on the clock. Real Madrid, who headed into the game bidding to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit, now had an even tougher task on their hands. However, far from being disheartened, City’s early goal served to spur Zinedine Zidane’s charges on and give them even greater desire to prove that this side should never be written off.

With 20 minutes played, it was Madrid who began to enjoy more of the possession and chances. Eden Hazard spotted Karim Benzema‘s run and he spun superbly, before forcing a fine save from Ederson. Barely a minute had elapsed when the Belgian tried his luck with a thunderous left-footed strike that the City goalkeeper once again did excellently to keep out. Madrid sensed that a goal wasn’t far away and the equaliser duly came six minutes later. The move began with Rodrygo, who conjured up a terrific piece of skill to reach the by-line, before sending in an inch-perfect cross that Benzema nodded home to make it 1-1.

Everything to play for
The half-time whistle came with the game level at 1-1, although the hosts had chances to have gone ahead through a Phil Foden shot with 42 minutes gone, but the effort went inches wide of the Madrid goal and a corner from Kevin De Bruyne where he tried to catch Courtois out, but the Belgian was equal to it. The Real Madrid stopper was equally impressive after the restart, keeping out Sterling in a one-on-one with 47 minutes on the clock.

Winning goal
Zidane brought Marco Asensio on just after the hour mark in place of Rodrygo. The match soon became more of an end-to-end affair and Benzema tired his luck in the 64th minute with a shot that Ederson collected well. City responded immediately, but Courtois again came out on top against Gabriel Jesus from close range. Not long after that, the Brazilian put his team ahead. Real Madrid now needed two goals to progress. Luka Modric came close to scoring in the 70th minute, but his shot struck Gündoga on the goal line. The Whites continued to look for the goal but Manchester City kept the ball well to defend their lead