Aadi's Sports Corner

Champions League Nights are always magical and even more mesmerizing when it is played at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, home to one of the best football clubs in the history of the competition.

The match was scheduled for an evening kick-off 8:00, local time (12:30 IST), 9^th May,2023, between Real Madrid CF and Manchester City FC.

This was a mouthwatering clash between two of the best teams in Europe over the past few seasons. Adding spice to the match was the fact that it was a UCL semi-final first leg. Stakes were high and players were ready to give their all for this one.

It was the third time these sides were meeting in the last 4 seasons. The most recent one being the iconic semi-final match in 2022, where Madrid made history with one of the greatest comebacks, by scoring 2 goals in the final 3 minutes to force the match to extra time, where they beat Manchester and went on to play the final against Liverpool in Paris and won the competition for a record 14^th time in their rich history.

The match definitely would serve as a point to prove for both the clubs and the players. All eyes were on City’s top scorer of the season Erling Haaland who has already amassed 51 goals this season and is on course to being the top scorer in this year’s UCL too.

The key battles would include Karim Benzema, the 2022 Ballon d’or winner, up against Haaland. Belgian teammates Kevin De Bruyne going up against Real Madrid goalie Thibaut Courtois.

Major milestones were unlocked for the 2 footballing geniuses managing their clubs into this game. Carlo Ancelloti of Real Madrid equaled the record of the great Sir Alex Ferguson of managing the most matches in the history of the competition (190). Pep Guardiola making a record 10^th appearance at this stage of the tournament. The match got off to a promising start with City dominating possession and creating a lot of chances, mounting pressure on Courtois for the first 30 minutes of the match. Madrid did create panic among the City defenders who held their ground firm.

The Madrid supporters had come all out to support their team in this match and were chanting at the top of their voices which just set the stage for the action to begin.

36 minutes into the game and Vinicius Junior scored a rocket goal for Madrid which could not be stopped by Ederson, the Manchester goalkeeper. The goal resembled the pure class, not only from Vinicius, but even spoke volumes about Madrid as one of the top clubs in world football.

There was a serious threat from Real Madrid towards the end of the first half.

Jack Grealish and Dani Carvajal got into a heated argument just before the referee could blow the whistle.

Both teams started off the second half on a high, until Kevin De Bruyne, scored a screamer to level things for Manchester City in the 67^th minute. This goal was beyond beautiful and one could just sit back and appreciate it.

There were a number of fouls committed in the last 20 minutes, with players like Toni Kroos, Eduardo Camavinga, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan getting booked.

The match ended in a draw and De Bruyne was awarded the man of the match award for his heroics.

Haaland seemed to be a shadow of his former self as he was contained well by Rudiger and Alaba. Benzema was not at his best, but he definitely did create some good chances for his team.

Special shout out would go to Camavinga who has evolved as a left-back in the new system of Ancelotti. Vinicius was brilliant and clinical throughout the game and did some good work in the midfield.

Though the match did not serve as a goal fest, keeping the track record of these two teams in mind, it was a complete entertainer. The 2 golazos from Vini and Kevin were the highlights of the match. Both the teams would definitely be content with their efforts as well as the score line.

What we can expect in the return leg at the Etihad stadium in Manchester is another close contest. None of these 2 teams can be written off and any result can be expected next week.