Last Updated on May 11, 2023 5:59 pm by Erwin Noguera
The first leg of the Champions League semifinals is history, and the series between Real Madrid and Manchester City will be decided at the Etihad Stadium. At the same time, Inter have everything in their favor to qualify for the Grand Final after an excellent 2-0 victory over AC Milan.
There is no doubt that in both matches we enjoyed the great talent and experience of many players. We have two favorites to qualify for the Grand Final, Inter and Manchester City. However, the keys are not set, and Milan and, above all, Real Madrid can upset those odds and qualify for the final.
As expected, Real Madrid and Manchester City came out to play their predetermined style of play, and there is no doubt that a 1-1 away draw is an excellent result for the Citizens. As for Real Madrid, they will now have to visit the Etihad to seek the feat of beating the team that is undoubtedly in the best form in all of the world soccer at the moment.
Milan will again face their historic rivals, Inter, at the San Siro. However, this time they will do it as visitors; that is to say, most of the crowd will be Nerazzurri, and, in addition, they have a two-goal disadvantage that can be very difficult to overcome without Leao (who we don’t know if will make it).
Champions League Semifinals: Real Madrid and Manchester City sign a draw at the Santiago Bernabéu
Manchester City did not disappoint, and both teams showed us all their great qualities in just 90 minutes. However, after a spectacular back and forth during the match, Vinicius and Kevin de Bruyne’s goals signed the draw in the first leg of this match in Madrid.
Everything started as expected, with the Citizens completely on top of the White House. Pep Guardiola’s men took complete possession of the ball, generating many scoring chances. However, Madrid’s fierce defense against a discrete Erling Haaland meant that the threats didn’t transfer into goals.
When everything seemed to indicate that Manchester City would score the first goal of the night, the Brazilian Vinicius Jr. appeared (36′) and, with a spectacular finish, scored 1-0 for his team.
From that moment on, Real Madrid woke up and began to attack Ederson’s goal, and, little by little, the Sky-blues gave up possession of the ball.
In the second half, when the Merengues were very close to scoring the 2-0 that would put definitive figures to the match, a spectacular move by City appeared that ended with a very good shot by Kevin de Bruyne (67′) to the back of Courtois’ goal for the 1-1.
Now, with the score 1-1, the teams will face each other next Wednesday, May 17, to define the second finalist of this edition of the UEFA Champions League.
Champions League Semifinals: Inter crush Milan and is one step away from the Grand Final
The Derby della Madonnina was full of emotions from the very first moment of the match. In just 11 minutes, Inter had already dealt two heavy blows to a Milan side that seemed completely asleep on the pitch. In the end, these two goals in three minutes gave the Neroazurri a 2-0 victory in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals.
Inter had a phenomenal first half of the match. It is worth highlighting the Argentine Lautaro Martinez, who, although did not score either of his team’s two goals, was responsible for generating a lot of unbalance in the rivals’ defense.
In the eighth minute of the match, Edin Dzeko scored the first goal after a corner kick from Inter’s left flank. Then, three minutes later, a great run down the left side of the field set up Henrikh Mkhitaryan to score the visitors’ second and final goal. In the end, the first half ended with the Nerazzurri overwhelming the Rossoneri, but they could not convert another goal.
In the second half, the roles were reversed, as Milan took control of the match in all areas of the pitch. However, the reaction could not be total, and they could not pierce Onana’s net.
Now, down 0-2, Il Diavolo will have to come from behind in the second leg next Tuesday to qualify for the final.
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