Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid were held to an ultimately disappointing 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.
The two sides are desperately fighting for a spot on European football’s biggest stage, where they’ll face the winner of Milan–Inter. Real Madrid and Manchester City met in the Champions League semi-finals last season, a tie that saw Los Blancos reach the final after a 6-5 aggregate win.
Manchester City have looked typically strong this season, remaining calm during Arsenal’s time at the top of the Premier League table before leapfrogging them and cruising through the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich 4-1 in the quarter-finals.
Things have been a little more difficult for Ancelotti and Real Madrid. They will not defend their title in La Liga but have found some solace in the Copa del Rey, beating Osasuna in the final to lift the trophy.
The tension was palpable at the Santiago Bernabéu as the two teams kicked off the first half. Manchester City were initially dominant, controlling the ball and having the lion’s share of chances, but things changed after Vinicius Junior scored with a thunderous shot in the 36th minute of the match.
Suddenly Real Madrid were in the driving seat, and they carried this momentum into the second half, but were unable to double their advantage, giving Manchester City confidence as the game continued.
The Sky Blues’ resilience paid off in the 67th minute, when Kevin De Bruyne launched a trademark drilled shot into the bottom corner of Thibaut Courtois’ net, drawing his side level.
The two sides poked and prodded in the final 20 minutes of the match but neither could find a breakthrough, leaving things wide open ahead of the second leg in Manchester next week.