Real Madrid pull off an epic and take a giant step at the Etihad | OneFootball

The new Champions League format has provided us with a real cracker of a game right from the start. A clash of the titans that has come much sooner than football fans are used to, in a clash of the titans between Real Madrid and Manchester City, who are paying the price for the poor league form that both clubs have signed up for as punishment.

A duel that is already considered by many to be the new European classic, despite the fact that this year’s circumstances are very different from those of previous seasons. And the first round of this fierce battle would take place at the Etihad Stadium, which would be the venue, once again, for this battle on the road to La Orejona.

Real Madrid forgive… and City strike first

The match, as expected, began in accordance with what was at stake, marked by the great respect between the two teams. Two teams that did not want to risk losing any committed balls, but neither did they want to give much space to the rival. However, once the pulse rate dropped, it was Real Madrid who went all out

And it did so first with a clear chance in which Vinícius found himself alone against Ederson, forcing the Brazilian goalkeeper to give away a penalty. However, the move was preceded by an offside by Vini himself, so the play was already disallowed Next time, it was Vinícius himself who found Mbappé completely unmarked, who faced him down the right and forced Ederson into a clear save.

But the clearest chance came just after. After a series of moves in the City area, the ball ended up at the feet of Vinícius, who set up Mendy in the six-yard box With Ederson beaten and with a clear goal, however, the French full-back failed to put the ball in the net, with the ball being cleared by one of the home side’s defenders.

Real Madrid continued to press after these three clear chances, and did not seem willing to slow down, imposing very high pressure that made it difficult for Guardiola’s side to get out of their own half A few minutes later, in another foray into the area by Vini, the Brazilian again asked for a penalty, but the referee did not consider it sufficient. Only 15 minutes had passed, and the match had already shown that it was everything that was expected

However, in football, when you make mistakes, you tend to pay for them. And Gvardiol found a real highway down the left wing, and after a clearance from the visiting defense, the ball fell at the feet of Grealish at the top of the box, who sent in a cross that Asencio failed to clear And after a combination in the area between Gvardiol and Haaland, the Norwegian striker pushed the ball past Courtois with his left foot. A goal that, after a long VAR deliberation, ended up on the scoreboard

A goal that, however, did not disrupt the plan of a Real Madrid that was clearly dominating the game despite the result. And again Vinícius warned Ederson with a right-footed shot against the crossbar just after the restart for the home side. However, as the minutes went by, the home side tried to sleep the game and thus shake off the white dominance

A recently substituted Foden warned with a left-footed shot that Courtois managed to stop, at a point in the game when City were now dominating and putting pressure on Madrid. The English also threatened from set pieces, and now it was Akanji who sent the ball onto the crossbar after a cross from De Bruyne After several minutes of English dominance, Madrid came back into the game, and tried again with a lash from Valverde from outside the area, which Ederson cleared with his fingertips.

Just on the stroke of half-time, Madrid came back to their best, monopolizing the ball again on the brink of half-time In fact, in the four minutes of extra time, Mbappé had two clear chances to level the score, first after a rebound from one of the defenders that almost found its way into Ederson’s goal, and then after a shot all alone from the left, which went well over the crossbar.

Mbappé equalizes… And Madrid pulls off an epic to win the game

The start of the second half was nothing like the start or the end of the first. Barely 30 seconds had passed when Foden stole the ball in the opposition half and found Haaland inside the area who, with hardly any space, created an opportunity, and in the space of just one touch, unleashed a right-footed shot that crashed into the crosspiece of the goal defended by Courtois

The Whites tried to shake off the shock and did so by upping the pressure The effect was immediate, and once again Vinícius, now on the left, managed to send in a cross to the penalty spot that Bellingham’s header went just wide of. Immediately afterwards, now on the other side, Rodrygo once again found Mbappé at the penalty spot, who this time did put it in the back of the net, only to be met with another great save by Ederson

Once again, just as in the first half, Madrid dominated and came storming into the City area, but, as in the first half, without success. However, everything that was missing in the first half miraculously arrived in the second half And in a second move after a direct free kick, Ceballos put a ball into the heart of the area, which found an unmarked Kylian Mbappé who finished with his shin in such an unorthodox way that he managed to surprise Ederson, drawing level on the scoreboard.

Now, with the score level again, Madrid were not willing to stop there They were destroying City down the wings, and a new incursion by Kylian Mbappé down the left ended with a ball into the area that found no one at the penalty spot, but it did come across a Fede Valverde on the second line, who unleashed a right-footed shot that went just wide of the post

The Whites continued to press and attack and, on a night when they were more accurate, could have been many goals ahead. A new ball from the right wing by Kylian Mbappé found Bellingham alone in the area, but once again, Ederson saved the English team with another exceptional save

From what we had seen on the pitch, it looked as if City were settling for the draw against a Real Madrid side that threatened to hurt Guardiola’s team on the counterattack However, just as happened in the first half, when Madrid were at their best, Ceballos conceded an unnecessary penalty that gave City the chance to get back in front. And from the penalty spot, Haaland made no mistake and put City back in front.

Now Madrid really did look like they had lost everything But the reality is that the Whites did not deserve to lose. And just when City seemed to have everything under control, Ederson, who had been the hero for the Sky Blue team, made a mistake in the clearance, and a combination between Vini and Brahim ended with a shot from the Brazilian inside the area, and the rebound was caught again by Brahim who, this time, brought the score back to 2-2

And just when the game seemed to be over, Vinícius stole the ball from Rico Lewis in his own half and found himself one-on-one with Ederson, who came out half-way. And although Vini’s chip didn’t find its way into the City goal, Bellingham was there to finish with almost no time left on the clock A goal that was much more than a victory, Madrid’s first victory on Citizen’s territory and a match that gave them an advantage in the tie… Next stop: next Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu.