Manchester City and Real Madrid played out an enthralling Champions League semi-final first leg at Etihad Stadium, with Pep Guardiola’s reigning English champions edging out this old rivals 4-3.
In what will go down as one of this season’s most entertaining matches, strikes from Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva proved just enough for City to head to the Bernabeu next week ahead.
That comes despite the best efforts of Real Madrid pair Vinicius Jr. and Karim Benzema, the later whose brace sent him to the top of the Champions League scoring charts this season with 14 goals.
The Sporting News has dug into the data behind the game, with all the key stats and facts below.
MORE: Four hot topics from Man City’s thrilling win
Guardiola’s domination against old rivals
- The hard-fought victory tipped the overall competitive head-to-head record between these two sides in City’s favour, now winning four of seven Champions League clashes.
- Guardiola extended his own personal winning run against Carlo Ancelotti to five straight matches in the process, with their most recent clashes coming during the Italian’s time at Everton.
- Guardiola continued his run of fine run of form against Madrid, losing just four of his 20 matchups with the Spanish giants.
- City’s four-goal haul also means that teams managed by the Catalan boss have now scored four or more times in a match on three separate occasions versus Los Blancos.
Real Madrid may be the undisputed #UCL kings, but Los Blancos really don’t like playing away in the semi-finals 😬 pic.twitter.com/MevGbqyjSQ
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 UK 🇬🇧 (@sportingnewsuk) April 26, 2022
Goals, goals, goals
- On a night of high tension, City’s De Bruyne opened the scoring by netting the fastest ever Champions League semi-final goal, after just 94 seconds.
- That goal was supplied by Riyad Mahrez, who now has his most direct goal contributions in a single season, with 32 across all competitions.
- De Bruyne then quickly turned provider, as Gabriel Jesus scored in back-to-back matches for City for the first time this season by netting his third goal in his last three appearances against Madrid.
- Madrid hit back before the half ended, though, with star striker Benzema netting his 13th Champions League goal of the season to draw level with Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski as the competition’s top scorer this season. It was an accolade he’d soon snatch away from the Polish striker with his Paneka penalty in the second half.
- Foden struck early into the second half for City to become the highest-scoring English player in the Champions League while 21 or younger, with nine goals overall.
- Another top young talent in Vinicius Jr. responded, scoring a signature goal following a carry. The Brazilian has now travelled with the ball at his feet for a total of 2801 metres in the Champions League this term – the furthest distance of any player.
- City’s Bernardo Silva again lit up Etihad Stadium with a stunning 74th-minute strike – his 13th across all competitions this season to tie the best-ever single season return of his career.
💫 A pair of 21-year-olds lighting up the #UCL knockout stages!
Phil Foden and Vinicius both on the scoresheet early in the second half of #MCIRMA. pic.twitter.com/hII1XPXrSm
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 UK 🇬🇧 (@sportingnewsuk) April 26, 2022
The Ballon d’Or contenders
- In a blistering first half, City’s De Bruyne proved unplayable at times, producing the most shots (2), chances created (3) and successful passes into the final third of the pitch (13) of any player, to go alongside his goal and assist.
- Benzema stole the show from a Madrid perspective by posting team-high numbers in several key categories. His two goals, three chances created, two shots on target and 10 touches inside the opposition’s box assured that he was a menace for the City defence all night long.
- With nine goals across his last four Champions League outings, the French forward is now on 14 for the season. He continues to hunt down Cristiano Ronaldo’s single-season goalscoring record of 17 strikes, with a maximum of two games left to play.
Ball-winning leaders
- On the other side of the ball, Eder Militão was one man who drew the ire of some fans on a tricky night. Looking shaky at times and making a couple of high-profile errors, he did put in a solid individual performance from a purely statistical perspective by producing the most interceptions (3), clearances (4) and blocks (2) of any player on the pitch. He also won a joint-high nine duels.
- While the likes of Riyad Mahrez and De Bruyne will take the limelight for City, Rodri was key in midfield. He made the most successful passes in the first half (49), won possession back for his side more times than anyone else (5) and won the second-most duels (3).
