They are a victory against Liverpool away from lifting a 14th European Cup. Like PSG and Chelsea before them, City will wonder how they emerged as losers from a match they largely controlled and there will be fresh scrutiny too on coach Pep Guardiola, who, for all his success, goes another year without leading City to the European glory they so crave.Ĭity's collapse would have been almost inexplicable had it been against anyone other than Real Madrid, who advance to their 17th final in the competition. This season, Madrid had already performed the unlikeliest of rescue acts to defeat both Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 and Chelsea in the quarter-finals but, given the stakes and how close they were to defeat, this one against Manchester City was surely the most dramatic. With City still reeling, Real Madrid landed the knock-out blow as Benzema earned and then converted a spot-kick to snatch a 6-5 win on aggregate, with another remarkable fightback at the Santiago Bernabeu added to the club's long list of magical European nights.
MADRID: Karim Benzema scored an extra-time penalty as Real Madrid pulled off another astonishing comeback in the Champions League to stun Manchester City 3-1 on Wednesday and book a showdown with Liverpool in the final.Ĭity looked certain to go through when Riyad Mahrez put them 1-0 up and 5-3 ahead on aggregate but Rodrygo, on as a substitute, scored an incredible late double, his goals in the 90th and 91st minutes sending the tie to extra time. Karim Benzema scored the winner as Real Madrid fought back to reach the Champions League final