MANCHESTER CITY 1-1 (4-4 AGG) REAL MADRID – VISITORS WIN DRAMATIC SHOOT-OUT TO PROGRESS IN UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

It was a hugely dramatic UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg as Manchester City’s epic encounter with Real Madrid went the distance at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening. Real Madrid somehow survived a near-constant barrage of pressure from the hosts to take the tie to a penalty shoot-out with the score at 1-1 after extra time, and they went on to clinch a stunning victory. Andriy Lunin was the hero as Real Madrid overcame Manchester City on penalties to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. The goalkeeper saved from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic, before Antonio Rudiger netted the decisive spot-kick as the 14-time winners dethroned the reigning champions. Following a 3-3 draw in last week’s pulsating first leg, Madrid struck first at the Etihad Stadium as Rodrygo put them ahead inside 12 minutes, slotting home at the second attempt after Ederson saved his initial effort. However, the hosts finally broke their visitors’ stubborn resistance 14 minutes from time when Rudiger cleared Jeremy Doku’s cross straight to De Bruyne, who calmly lifted the ball into the roof of the net. Pep Guardiola’s side continued to dominate proceedings, but they could not find that winning goal as the tie edged towards a penalty shoot-out. Although Ederson denied Luka Modric with Madrid’s first kick to give City the early advantage, Lunin came up trumps to deny Silva and Kovacic and swing the shoot-out back in favour of the visitors, who subsequently prevailed with Rudiger’s successful final kick setting up a last-four date with Bayern Munich. Pep Guardiola will be wondering how his side are not in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. City dominated large periods of the contest with 67.2 per cent of the possession. They completed 846 passes – more than double their opponents’ tally (373) – out-shot Madrid by 33 to eight, and had 88 touches in the opposition box to the visitors’ 12. However, the reigning champions, who also had an xG of 2.73, were punished for not converting their dominance into goals. Indeed, Madrid simply hung on and hung on before holding their nerve from the penalty spot, and a 15th European crown is now a real possibility. Honourable mentions go to the likes of De Bruyne and Rudiger, but Lunin’s shootout exploits just about give him the edgAlthough, the Madrid stopper did not only shine when it came to penalties, as he had to be alert to wave after wave of City attacks, and indeed he was, keeping out eight of their nine shots on target throughout the second leg. Lunin then took centre stage in the shoot-out by guessing correctly to thwart Silva and Kovacic, paving the way for Rudiger to send Madrid through to their 33rd semi-final in this competition.