Real Madrid and Manchester City Draw in Thrilling Champions League Quarter-Final
Match Report: High-Scoring Affair Leaves All to Play for in Second Leg
Manchester City and Real Madrid played out an enthralling 3-3 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday night.
City came out the stronger in the second half and took the lead through a brace of stunning strikes from Phil Foden. The Citizens then doubled their advantage through Manuel Akanji.
However, Real Madrid fought back valiantly, with Karim Benzema scoring a penalty before Vinicius Junior equalized with a fine individual effort. Bernardo Silva gave City the lead again, but Benzema scored a late equalizer to earn a share of the spoils.
The result leaves the tie finely poised heading into the second leg at the Etihad Stadium on March 17.
City manager Pep Guardiola was pleased with his team's performance, but admitted that there were areas where they could improve.
"Overall, I'm happy with the performance," Guardiola said. "We created a lot of chances and scored some great goals. But we need to be more clinical in front of goal."
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was also happy with his team's performance, but admitted that they need to be more solid defensively.
"We played well and created chances, but we need to be more solid defensively," Ancelotti said. "We gave away some soft goals and that cost us the win."
The second leg of the tie will be played at the Etihad Stadium on March 17. City will be looking to secure a place in the semi-finals, while Real Madrid will be hoping to overturn their first-leg deficit.
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