Semi-finals, as it should be! Manchester City beat Real Madrid 4:3, Benzema is top scorer

The opening Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid was entertaining, with the home side winning 4-3. The Citizens led by two goals three times, but Karim Benzema and co. managed to respond each time.

The opening goal came in the second minute when Kevin de Bruyne headed in Riyad Mahrez’s centre and fired past Thibaut Courtois. Nine minutes later it was two goals down, Gabriel Jesus had an easy job after a mistake by David Alaba.

Real subsequently struggled to do anything with the result and Citizens threatened from quick breaks, which suddenly had plenty of space. Riyad Mahrez missed the first big chance, and moments later Phil Foden missed the back post by a couple of figures.

The visitors only regained their composure in the 30th minute when a header narrowly missed Alaba. Three minutes later, Madrid celebrated, with French canon Karim Benzema scoring from a corner. Manchester went into the cabins with a 2-1 scoreline.

Right after the change of sides, Mahrez had the third goal for the home team, but only hit the bar. Foden’s follow-up was knocked down by Real’s defence. In the 53rd minute, the stadium exploded. Fernandinho’s centre found Foden, who made no mistake for the third time.

Two minutes later, it was back to a goal, Vinicius Junior scored. Aymerick Laporte had a shot in the 67th minute but was unsuccessful. The sixth goal came in the 73rd minute when Bernardo Silva hit the crossbar.

And that was not all. In the 80th minute, Laporte played his hand in the box and Benzema converted the penalty. It put him at the top of the scorers’ table. That was the last chance of the game and Manchester will go into the rematch with a one-goal lead.

Source: UEFA