Real Madrid shatters Man City treble dreams
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MANCHESTER, England, April 18, (AP): Real Madrid weathered the storm, silenced the crowd, and ultimately ended Manchester City’s brief hold on the Champions League.
It was the all-time kings of Europe who moved a step closer to a record-extending 15th title in the competition they have dominated after a 4-3 win Wednesday on penalties at Etihad Stadium.
For Pep Guardiola it is back to the drawing board after watching his team dominate Madrid, only to relinquish the trophy it won for the first time last year.
“In this competition, that’s the way football happens,” the City manager said. “In other sports, for (these) statistics, we would have won.”
The game had gone to the uncertainty of a shootout after ending 1-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate.
City dominated the chances after going behind Rodrygo’s opening goal in the 12th minute but only had Kevin de Bruyne’s leveler in the 76th to show for its superiority, which included 64% of possession and 18 corners to Madrid’s one through extra time.
That counted for little as Antonio Rudiger struck the decisive spot kick after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both saw their penalties saved.
“I was pretty much dead on my feet at the end,” Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham said. “It’s so difficult. They are continuously probing with the ball and move you around. Most teams would fall apart when City get on top of you, but we stood up well.”
Madrid’s players and the visiting fans were still celebrating as the stadium quickly emptied.
City’s hopes of becoming the first English team to win back-to-back Champions League titles were quashed. So too, Guardiola’s bid to win successive trebles.
Madrid’s defense of the trophy was ended by a 4-0 rout at the hands of City in last year’s semifinals. Now it is closing in on another title and will face Bayern Munich in the semifinals.
Joshua Kimmich’s header powered Bayern Munich to a 1-0 win over Arsenal to reach the Champions League semifinals with a 3-2 victory on aggregate.
With the score at 2-2 from the first leg in London, Kimmich’s header off Raphael Guerreiro’s pinpoint cross put Bayern ahead in the 63rd minute as Bayern largely neutralized the English team’s attack.
Bayern kept alive its hopes of finishing the season with a trophy three days after Bayer Leverkusen ended Bayern’s 11-year reign as German champion. Striker Harry Kane takes a step closer to what would be the first trophy of his career.
Bayern and Arsenal have been drawn together five times in the knockout stages of the Champions League since 2005 and the German team has eliminated Arsenal on each occasion.
Arsenal’s Champions League exit follows a heavy blow to its Premier League title ambitions in a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday. Defeat also rules Arsenal out of next year’s Club World Cup in the United States.
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