Real Madrid and Manchester City played out a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday night at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.The visitors from the Spanish capital were left to rue a handful of missed chances in the second half, as Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart delivered a man-of-the-match performance in net for the hosts.In the hours before kick-off, there had been conflicting reports about the status of Cristiano Ronaldo and whether he would start or not.
In the end the Portuguese was deemed not fit enough to play, forcing manager Zinedine Zidane to adjust his line-up. Emerging winger Lucas Váquez was handed with the task of filling in for Ronaldo, while the rest of the XI was composed of the regular faces, with midfielders Casemiro and Luka Modric, and defenders Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal all back in after not starting against Rayo on Saturday.It was a tight, tense start between the two sides, with neither team able to create too much danger.
Roared on by a boisterous crowd, City looked to strike Real on the counter, but Los Blancos relatively untroubled by City’s speedy wingers.A couple of set pieces deep in Real half caused a couple uncomfortable moments, but overall Keylor Navas and the Real defence managed to stave off any threat through the first half hour.Some bad luck befell City minutes before half-time as creative playmaker David Silva was forced to leave the match with an injury, further depleting a midfield that was already lacking Yaya Toure.
In attack Real were lacking ideas during the first 45 minutes, summed up by a Karim Benzema chance on the brink of half-time that ballooned well over the crossbar.An injury then affected the Real set-up, as Benzema had to be subbed out during the interval with an injury and was replaced by Jesé. The second half started off with plenty of energy, with Sergio Aguero sending in a long distance shot that went just a yard over Navas’ goal. Minutes later Real had a penalty shout as Nicolás Otamendi tripped up Gareth Bale in the penalty area.Real’s first shot on goal would finally come and it was the familiar sight of a Ramos header off a corner kick, but City goalkeeper Joe Hart was there to make the save.
The stalemate continued into the final half-hour as each possession of the ball became even more precious. Zidane’s men nearly made one such chance result in a goal, only to see a Jesé header off a Carvajal cross hit the top of Hart’s crossbar. Minutes later a Bale left-footer went skidding just wide, which was followed by a Casemiro header that forced Hart into a reaction save with his feet.
But it was a stop inside the last 10 minutes that turned Hart into the hero for City on the night when he stopped Pepe from scoring from two yards out after a loose ball had fallen to the Portuguese defender. Pepe could only put his hands on his head in disbelief after Hart had blocked the shot with his chest.A late Kevin De Bruyne free kick required a last-second save from Navas, to finish a match in which the two goalkeepers stood tall to set up a dramatic return leg next Wednesday May 4th at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
