Real Madrid's Competition With Manchester City Towards The Champions League Final Is Still Hot

Real Madrid were held to a draw by Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League. (Photo: Twitter/@realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid failed to take advantage of their advantage as hosts in the first leg of the 2022/2023 Champions League semifinals. Los Blancos were held to a draw by Manchester City, Wednesday, May 10 in the morning WIB.

The match, which took place at the Santiago Bernabeu, ended in a 1-1 draw. This result makes the competition to penetrate the final still very hot.

The two teams will face off again in the second leg on May 18 which will be held at Manchester City headquarters, Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City immediately locked up Real Madrid's defense. The visitors created the first chance in the 7th minute through Kevin De Bruyne's on-target kick from outside the penalty box, but the ball was pushed over by Thibaut Courtois.

City threatened again in the 13th minute. This time, Rodri's long-range shot was denied by Courtois.

The Belgian goalkeeper twice saved his goal from being conceded from an attack launched by Erling Haaland.

Real Madrid just hit back in the 25th minute. Vinicius Junior's pass towards Karim Benzema in front of the goal could still be blocked by defender John Stones well.

The host supporters cheered after Real Madrid opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. Vinicius listed his name on the scoreboard.

Eduardo Camavinga took the ball from the defense himself and gave the ball to Vinicius in the City defense area. The Brazilian striker immediately shot the ball into the net which Ederson failed to block. Los Blancos lead 1-0.

City tried to catch up before halftime, but their efforts have not paid off. The first half ended with Real Madrid's 1-0 lead.

The team immediately played attacking since the second half started and got a chance through Karim Benzema's experiment in the 49th minute, but the direction of the ball is still not on target.

City came close to equalizing two minutes later, had Kevin De Bruyne's shot from close range not been parried by Courtois.

The Citizens finally equalized to 1-1 in the 67th minute. This time De Bruyne's hard kick from outside the penalty box managed to break into the bottom left corner of his compatriot's goal. In the 77th minute, Real Madrid almost scored. Benzema's header from close range can still be blocked by Ederson.

The home team tried hard to score a winning goal in the remaining time of the match. However, the 1-1 score lasted until the referee blew the long whistle signaling the end of the match, as reported by Antara.

Lineup of players

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Daniel Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga; Federico Valverde, Toni Kroos (84' Aurelien Tchouameni), Luka Modric (87' Nacho Fernandez); Rodrygo (81' Marco Asensio), Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.

Manchester City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji; John Stones, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish; Erling Haaland.