Manchester City down Real Madrid to reach Champions League quarter-finals
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ByEurosport
Updated 07/08/2020 at 21:30 GMT
Etihad Stadium, Champions League last 16 - Manchester City 2 (Sterling 9', Jesus 68') Real Madrid 1 (Benzema 28')
Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Manchester City celebrate against Real Madrid
Image credit: Getty Images
Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus were on target as Manchester City kept their cool to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Real Madrid.
Pep Guardiola's side held the advantage having recorded a 2-1 victory at the Bernabeu in the first-leg back in February, meaning Real needed to score twice without reply to advance in 90 minutes.
Their objective didn't change when Sterling opened the scoring for City after just nine minutes, but the goal would have had alarm bells ringing for Zinedine Zidane who watched Raphael Varane lose possession to the high-pressing Jesus who set the England international up for a simple finish.
City's pressure was relentless in the early exchanges, but Real - who had a week's longer break than their English counterparts - finally began to settle in the tie and in the 28th minute they reduced the deficit through a Karim Benzema header from an excellent Rodrygo cross.
The game ebbed and flowed at times in an exciting second-half but City fully deserved to grab the evening's all important third goal which came courtesy of another mistake by Varane. The World Cup winning defender sold his header back to Thibaut Courtois short and Jesus pounced to lift it over the Real goalkeeper with 68 minutes on the clock.
It was a thoroughly merited and convincing victory for City who set up a quarter-final tie with Lyon after the Ligue 1 side edged Juventus. They will be strong favourites to advance to the last four. Meanwhile, Zidane - who suffered his first Champions League exit as a manager - will reflect on a disjointed and uncharacteristically sloppy performance.
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Raheem Sterling of Manchester City celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium
Image credit: Getty Images
TALKING POINT - Did the extra week's break cost Real?
Rarely in history will you see such a lackadaisical performance from the Spanish giants on a European night. In an attacking sense they were fine but defensively Zidane will have questions to answer. Time and again they surrendered possession cheaply in their own half and you have to wonder if the extra week's break played a part in such a strange display.
Full credit to City, however, for an outstanding showing. They showed real maturity and composure to comfortably beat a football powerhouse, characteristics they will need further in the tournament if Pep is to finally reclaim Europe's top prize. They have sent a message to the other contenders.
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MAN OF THE MATCH - Gabriel Jesus
Kevin De Bruyne was excellent as always, but Jesus topped the lot. His energy and determination to persist with the high-press, combined with anticipation and a cool head, resulted in two goals.
PLAYER RATINGS
Man City: Ederson 7, Walker 7, Fernandinho 7, Laporte 7, Cancelo 6, Rodrigo 7, Gundogan 7, De Bruyne 9, Foden 7, Sterling 8, Jesus 9.. subs: Bernardo Silva 6, D Silva N/A, Otamendi N/A.
Real Madrid: Courtois 6, Carvajal 5, Militao 5, Varane 3, Mendy 5, Kroos 6, Modric 5, Casemiro 5, Hazard 6, Rodrygo 6, Benzema 7.. subs: Asensio 5, Jovic N/A, Valverde N/A, Vasquez N/A.
KEY MOMENTS
9' - GOAL! Man City 1-0 Real Madrid (Sterling): What are Real doing?! Varane gets caught under pressure as the visitors try to play out from the back. Jesus nips in and takes the ball, squaring it to Sterling who is left with a simple tap-in. That is a gift for City.
28' - GOAL! Man City 1-1 Real Madrid (Benzema): Real are back in business! Rodrygo skips past Cancelo all too easily down the right and stands up a teasing cross. Benzema, so often the man for the big occasion, guides it past Ederson with a lovely header.
68' - GOAL! Man City 2-1 Real Madrid (Jesus): GOAL, GOAL, GOAL! City have one foot in the quarter-final now. It's another horrible mistake by Varane as he gets his attempted header back to Courtois all wrong, it falls into the path of Jesus who coolly lifts it over the Real goalkeeper.
KEY STATS
- Pep Guardiola is the third manager to eliminate Real Madrid in the knockout stages of the Champions League on more than one occasion, along with Marcello Lippi (1995/96, 2002/03) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (2000/01, 2006/07).
- Kevin De Bruyne's tally of nine chances created is his most in a Champions League game, and the most in a game against Real Madrid in the competition since 2003, overtaking Andrey Arshavin's eight with Zenit in September 2008.
- Raheem Sterling scored his 100th goal in all competitions for Manchester City, becoming the first Englishman to reach three figures for the club since Dennis Tueart in 1981.
- Karim Benzema has scored five goals in his last six appearances in the Champions League knockout stages, as many as he had in his previous 26 such appearances combined.
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