Manchester City beat Real Madrid to reach Champions League final

Manchester City slayed the proverbial Champions League beast in Real Madrid to advance to the Champions League final.

Goals by Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez and an own goal by Eder Militao lifted the Premier League side 4-0 past last season’s European champions.

The final scoreline flattered Los Blancos as Manchester City dominated the entire first half with Silva opening the score following a brilliant pass from Kevin De Bruyne.

The Portuguese midfielder added a second in the 36th minute to cap off one of the best halves from Guardiola’s side this season. In fact, they might have headed into the dressing a bit disappointed they only got two. Especially considering Real Madrid’s history in this competition and what happened last season when these two sides faced one another.

Real Madrid were finally able to have periods of possession and tried to cut the deficit in half. But City managed to keep them at bay despite some concerning moments. Manchester City put the game away in the 75th minute thanks to Militao who scored an own goal.

Alvarez added the cherry on top with a goal in the first minute of added time.

It was a complete performance from Manchester City and left no doubt as to who was the better side. Had it not been for Thibaut Courtois, City could have had at least two or three more goals.

“It’s unbelievable. I don’t think a lot of teams would do that to Real Madrid,” Jack Grealish said. “I don’t know what it is, but it feels unstoppable.”

City still had a thorn in their side from what happened last season and were able to avenge it this time around.

“At home we feel incredibly comfortable in front of our people,” Pep Guardiola said. “I have a feeling that for one year we had a fear in our stomach about what happened last season but today we went out with everything we had. Last season was so painful and people say it was lack of character but one year later we show just how special these players are.”

Real Madrid, particularly in the first half, were mere spectators unable to stop City’s onslaught. City were first to every loose ball, unrelenting with their pressing and quickly recovering any loss of possession.

The Real Madrid that showed up against City was reminiscent to the one that has shown up in LaLiga. In the Champions League, they faced the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool with the former having a torrid time and latter with much of the same up until recently. At the Bernabeu, a great counter and finish from Vinicius Jr. got them a goal but he, alongside Karim Benzema and Rodrygo, were nullified.

Carlo Ancelotti opted to play Militao instead of Antonio Rudiger who had a near flawless performance in the first leg. Militao did end up scoring an own goal but the result could very well have been the same. That’s how dominant Guardiola’s side was. One player wasn’t going to make a difference on this occasion.

Manchester City will be looking to win their first Champions League in club history with Inter Milan as their final hurdle.