Real Madrid and Manchester City played out a 0-0 draw at the Etihad on Tuesday night. Both sides had crucial players missing through injury and also lost players as the game wore on. City did well to keep a clean sheet in spite of Real Madrid dominating the game in the second half.
Squads
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Kompany (C), Otamendi, Clichy, Fernando, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Silva, De Bruyne, Aguero
Real Madrid: Keylor Navas, Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo, Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Bale, Vazquez, Benzema
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With Cristiano Ronaldo missing out after failing a late fitness test, Zinedine Zidane had no choice but to start with Lucas Vazquez. Ronaldo was not even on the bench and wore a sombre look as he took his place on the bench before the match.
Meanwhile, Yaya Toure was also declared unfit and did not make the squad. Manuel Pellegrini chose to go with Fernando and Fernandinho in midfield behind Kevin De Bruyne while David Silva started out on the left.
Man City and Real Madrid struggle in final third
The home side kicked things off in their first ever Champions League semi-final and were put under pressure straightaway by Real Madrid. Otamendi almost went into the book as early as the fourth minute when he brought down Benzema with a tackle that was from behind. Luckily for the defender, referee Cuneyt Cakir, who is known for producing cards, kept them in his pocket.
Real Madrid’s front three of Benzema, Bale and Vazquez interchanged positions during the first half. Although the French striker started up front, he and Vazquez took turns leading the line while Bale was involved in a personal battle with City left-back Gael Clichy.
De Bruyne was finding space in Real Madrid’s half early on and even managed to skip past Pepe at one point near the touchline and was stopped in his tracks only thanks to an alert Casemiro who came sliding in. With City pressing, they were winning the ball back and the Belgian eventually induced Pepe into a tackle that saw Cakir pull out a yellow card.
Near the half hour mark, Ramos escaped what looked like a certain booking when he caught Fernandinho on the ankle while going in for a tackle. At the other end, Bale was giving City a few nightmares with his direct running and acceleration. On one such run, Kompany had to block him with a body-check that invited the referee to blow the whistle.
Both sides lose players to injury
Soon after, David Silva went in the book for a mistimed tackle on Bale, going nowhere close to the ball. That would be Silva’s last contribution, however, as a hamstring injury saw the Spaniard limp off the pitch with Kelechi Iheanacho coming on to take his place.
Surprisingly, Iheanacho slotted in behind Aguero rather than alongside him like he does in the Premier League. De Bruyne was moved out to the left flank to take Silva’s position. But with only minutes left to half-time, Pellegrini probably did not want to tinker with the formation.
Half-Time: Man City 0-0 Real Madrid
There was more bad news for Los Blancos at half-time as Benzema was taken off. The French striker was not completely fit for the game and was replaced by Jese Rodriguez.
The second half almost saw two penalties early on – one at each end. The first saw Bale go down in the box following a challenge from Otamendi but the Welsh forward had only lost his balance after getting past the Argentine defender. At the other end, Iheanacho was challenged by Ramos and there was no real foul from the Spaniard.
Aguero was making a nuisance of himself in the Real box, first shooting high from a through-ball sent in by Fernandinho. Soon after, he was battling for the ball with Carvajal and even had Keylor Navas to contend with as the goalkeeper blocked a shot that was on target with his face.
Real Madrid dominate the final 30 minutes
It was the visitors who hogged most of the possession with City only looking to counter through Aguero or De Bruyne. The City fans resorted to booing Zidane’s side when they had a spell of long, meaningless possession while they were simultaneously frustrated due to City's lack of progress into the final third and a lack of clear-cut chances.
Jese then had the best chance of the half when Carvajal’s cross into the box was headed goalward by Jese. The header had Hart in trouble as it looped over him but he only managed to hit the crossbar. Minutes later, Bale attempted a curling shot from the right to the far corner. Hart was beaten but the shot whizzed wide of the far post.
Pellegrini brought on Raheem Sterling for the final 15 minutes as Jesus Navas made way. It was a like-for-like substitution as Sterling played on the right wing rather than the left where he has played often this season.
Real Madrid were piling on the pressure at this point and went close again from a corner kick. Bale’s header in the box found Pepe unmarked inside the six-yard box but his shot was straight at a brave Hart who made himself big in front of the defender and blocked a powerful shot with his body.
City had two chances in the dying moments of the game. The first saw Raheem Sterling through on goal on a counter-attack but a heavy touch saw Pepe intercept the ball just in time to prevent the young Englishman from taking a shot at Navas’s goal.
De Bruyne then had a chance to whip in a free-kick from the left in stoppage time. His shot was on target as it dipped towards goal but Keylor Navas tipped it over the bar to keep the scoreline at 0-0 as Cakir blew the whistle after the resulting corner kick was cleared.
