It’s official: Real Madrid has their ticket to Paris.
Real Madrid proved victorious, finishing the second leg of the semifinals with a match score 3-1 and an aggregate score of 6-5. Real Madrid will face Liverpool on Saturday, May 28 in the Champions League finals.
Manchester City entered the match strong as Riyad Mahrez shot a free kick straight into Thibaut Courtois’ hands, almost scoring. Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva followed with a nice collaboration effort to the goal as well, but were also blocked by Courtois. Both teams made it clear they showed up to play.
The first half wrapped without a goal and the aggregate score remained 4-3 Manchester, following their win during the first leg of the semifinals.
It was a lively start to the second half from Real Madrid, countered by Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus who performed well to control the madness.
Mahrez was ultimately the man to deliver for the 1,500 Manchester City fans who travelled to Madrid. His left-footed goal finally put them on the scoreboard at 1-0, increasing their aggregate score to 5-3.
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Mahrez is the first Manchester City player to score seven goals in a UEFA Champions League campaign. This is arguably the best season ever for not only Mahrez, but for Manchester City as a whole.
With Manchester City holding a two-goal cushion, Real Madrid had their work cut out for them if they wanted to face Liverpool in Paris later this month.
Everything changed towards the end of the second half as Real Madrid found a lifeline in the form of 21-year-old Rodrygo Silva de Goes. Rodrygo scored, not only once, but twice within only ninety seconds, first tying and then giving his team the lead at 2-1.
Despite Rodrygo's heroics, there remained some unfinished business. The aggregate score was officially tied at 5-5 and another 30 minutes commenced at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
As extra time came to a close, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema scored and racked up the match score to 3-1 and the aggregate score to 6-5.
Benzema has officially equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals scored in a single Champions League knockout phase.
Manchester City was left shell-shocked and Real Madrid is heading to Paris for next week’s finals. This will be Real Madrid’s seventeenth appearance in the Champions League finals.
Sports
Real Madrid will now travel to Paris to face off against Liverpool in the Champions League finals on Saturday, May 28 at 3 p.m. ET.
