Manchester City’s dreams of retaining the Champions League were shattered after a dramatic penalty shoot-out loss to Real Madrid.
Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both missed from the spot as City were beaten 4-3 on penalties after their pulsating quarter-final tie ended 4-4 on aggregate.
Rodrygo had given Real an early lead in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium but City otherwise dominated and, after creating a host of chances, finally made it 1-1 on the night through Kevin De Bruyne in the 76th minute.
De Bruyne spurned a good chance to win the tie in normal time and Erling Haaland had earlier hit the crossbar but it was the competition’s record 14-time winners who ultimately prevailed.
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Kings of Europe can reclaim their crown as Man City are denied the double treble
The champions were dethroned by the kings. Manchester City’s reign lasted only a year. Real Madrid, the club Pep Guardiola has long described as the kings of Europe, expelled City from continental competition by doing what they always do. They found a way.
It required a wonderful rearguard action, a random assortment of penalty takers, a couple of saves from a goalkeeper, in Andriy Lunin, who would have been on the bench had Thibaut Courtois not suffered cruciate ligament damage or had Kepa Arrizabalaga displayed better form.
But Real, buffeted but not beaten, defiant but not defeated, found a way past Guardiola’s favourites. Now a semi-final against Bayern Munich beckons. Now a 15th European Cup could do, along with a fifth of Carlo Ancelotti’s extraordinary career.
Richard Jolly’s report from a dramatic night at the Eithad:
Ben Fleming17 April 2024 23:34
Why the rest of Europe is celebrating the Premier League’s night of failure in the Champions League
The world’s greatest show isn’t showing its face in the Champions League semi-finals.
That is actually refreshing in a football world where virtually everything is increasingly dictated by finance and off-field issues. There has been a general gloom in the European game about the strength of the Premier League, as if it’s almost futile to try and compete. That feeling was only compounded by the fact those seven years have seen English clubs occupy over half the places in Champions League finals. It is probably better for football as a whole to not have such trends constantly continue, and for such concentration of wealth to get worse. The great virtue of European football is after all its variety and vitality. Anyone that grew up playing Subbuteo, and poring over the kit colours or names for the scoreboard, will testify to that. It fed into the richness of the continental game.
Why Europe is celebrating the Premier League’s night of failure
‘Something must be done about the Premier League’ is a common refrain in European club boardrooms – so Real Madrid and Bayern Munich duly obliged, knocking out Manchester City and Arsenal to leave no English clubs at the semi-final stage for only the second time since 2017
Jamie Braidwood18 April 2024 09:40
How Real Madrid’s ‘lucky’ night exposed the truth about Man City
The man sometimes described as football’s greatest manager considered a result that could lead to Carlo Ancelotti winning a fifth Champions League, while his own tally will remain a mere three. “In other sports, we would have won with those statistics,” said Pep Guardiola. Manchester City had 32 shots to Real Madrid’s eight. Real scored four penalties to City’s three. Barcelona’s most successful coach quoted his mentor. “Johan Cruyff said luck doesn’t exist and I agree with him.”
There is, though, a case that fortune did not favour City: eliminated on penalties after 210 minutes of drama, they could reflect…
This article was originally published by a www.independent.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .