Live Commentary: Real Madrid vs Manchester City



Good evening and welcome to Nigerianeye's live commentary of the Champions League semi-final second leg between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Bernabeu.


The last-four tie is currently delicately poised after the two teams played out a goalless draw in the first leg in Manchester last week.

The last time that the pair met at the Bernabeu was during the 2012-13 season, when Real Madrid recorded a 3-2 victory in the group stages of the Champions League.

The winner will face Atletico Madrid in the final later this month after Diego Simeone's side dumped Bayern Munich out of the competition last night.


OFFICIAL LINE-UP

REAL MADRID: Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Isco; Bale, Jese, Ronaldo

MANCHESTER CITY: Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernandinho, Fernando; Navas, Toure, De Bruyne; Aguero






















The referee brings the second period to a close and Real Madrid have booked their spot in the 2016 Champions League final, where they will meet Atletico Madrid! What a match that promises to be! Thanks for joining Nigerianeye for the action. Until next time!

90 min+7 FULL-TIME: Real Madrid 1-0 Man City

90 min+6 Ronaldo has one blocked behind for a corner after James passed up a good chance!

90 min+5 Possession football from the home side here!

90 min+5 Time is ticking on here and the home supporters are in full voice.

90 min+4 BOOKING! Otamendi (Man City) is booked for a late challenge on Ronaldo.

90 min+3 Hart beats James to the ball as Man City survive a dangerous counter-attack!

90 min+3 Man City have possession in the Real Madrid half, but Pepe is up to head clear of his own box.

90 min+2 Navas is back on his feet and Man City have possession of the ball.

90 min+1 FOUR additional minutes to be played here!

90 min Brilliant goalkeeping from Navas as the Costa Rican comes out and clears after Pepe had gone walkabouts at the back. The stopper is currently down receiving some treatment though!

89 min CLOSE! Goodness me! Aguero unleashes one from distance and the ball kisses the top of the netting as it drops just over! Where on earth did that come from!

88 min REAL MADRID SUB! Kovacic replaces Modric for the home side.

88 min Little over two minutes of normal time remaining and Man City need to equalise here!

86 min Bale is hacked to the ground by Fernandinho, but the referee says no foul. Crikey!

85 min De Bruyne fires the ball into the side-netting from the resulting free kick.

84 min It is the Man City fans that can be heard in these final moments, but the home supporters are very quiet indeed. This semi-final should be over, but Man City are very much still in the argument!

83 min BOOKING! Vasquez (Real Madrid) is booked for a late challenge on Sterling.

83 min Real Madrid have gone all Atletico Madrid as they continue to drop deep and play on the counter-attack. That is fine, but Man City only need one piece of magic from one of their star players and it would be the Premier League side making the Champions League final. Still 1-0 Real Madrid here.

79 min Fernandinho gets himself involved with Marcelo after a late challenge and some of the players have their handbags out! De Bruyne is actually called over first and he seems very confused indeed.

76 min You can just sense the tension inside the stadium as Man City start to enjoy more of the possession in the final third. Real Madrid really need a second goal to be comfortable, but the visitors are coming on strong and we could be in for a wonderful final 15 minutes. All hands to the pump here!

74 min Man City just need one goal! One goal, as it stands, sends them into the Champions League final. But it must be said that Real Madrid are very, very comfortable with 74 minutes on the clock here.

72 min BOOKING! Fernando (Man City) is booked for a late challenge on Modric.

71 min MAN CITY SUB! Just as I say that, Iheanacho appears! He replaces Navas.

71 min You just get the feeling that there is going to be a late sting in the tail here and it would be some story if Man City managed to equalise and indeed make the final after a disappointing performance tonight. Still no attacking movement on the Man City bench, which is a real surprise at this stage.

68 min REAL MADRID SUB! James Rodriguez replaces Isco in Real's second change.

67 min Vasquez is able to step away from Clichy in a wide position, but Bale cannot collect on the opposite side and Man City survive once again. James Rodriguez is about to enter the field for the home side.

66 min Man City continue to live a charmed life, but they are still very much in this semi-final!

64 min CROSSBAR! Real Madrid come close to scoring a second as Bale meets a corner from Kroos, but his effort comes off the crossbar! Moments later, Ronaldo actually handles the ball into the back of the net, but the offside flag had been raised. Might well have picked up a booking there!

64 min Mangala slips and presents Ronaldo with a shooting chance, but Clichy is across to make the block and the ball just bounces away from Hart. The home side have the chance to threaten from a corner.

64 min Man City have been second best tonight, but one goal at this stage puts them into the Champions League final. Real Madrid need a second in order to be comfortable at this stage of the contest!

62 min MAN CITY SUB! Raheem Sterling replaces Toure for the away side.

61 min Ronaldo fouls Otamendi and Man City have the chance to make their second change of this game.

59 min SAVE! Hart gets down to keep out Ronaldo once again after the attacker had been released inside the Man City box. At the moment, Hart is keeping his team in this semi-final!

58 min We are entering the stage of the match where Pellegrini will be thinking about attacking changes. The Man City boss has the likes of Sterling, Bony and Iheanacho on his bench tonight and the latter in particular has been in excellent form in recent weeks. Little over 30 minutes to play in Madrid.

56 min REAL MADRID SUB! Lucas Vasquez replaces Jese in Real Madrid's first change.

56 min SAVE! Hart keeps out a Ronaldo header as the pressure builds on Man City!

55 min Real Madrid are dangerous each time that they break forward, but Man City have goals in them and continue to move the ball in the final third. I would be very surprised if we had seen the last of the goals with more than 35 minutes of this second leg to play. It is turning into a super game here.

53 min SAVE! Modric beats the offside trap to collect a Bale pass and face-up to Hart, but the Man City stopper makes a brilliant close-range save. The Man City defence just stopped there!

52 min CLOSE! Jese fires over the crossbar from inside the Man City box.

51 min Super work from Bale as the Welshman picks out Ronaldo with a wonderful pass, but the Portuguese scuffs the ball straight into the arms of Hart. Not like him from that position!

49 min At 1-0, Man City will always be in this semi-final. One goal for the visitors at this stage would leave them ahead in the tie, which makes this second leg so fascinating. Jese skips away from Otamendi in a wide position and attempts to find Ronaldo with a low cross, but Hart claims the ball.


47 min Fast start from the home side and Kroos finds Carvajal with a super cross, but the right-back's ball into Ronaldo finds the attacker in an offside position. Wonderful stuff from Kroos there!

47 min... no changes for either side at the break, which is not too much of a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers, certainly Pellegrini, will have alterations in mind for the second period here.

46 min KICKOFF! Here we go then - both sets of players rejoin us on the pitch for the second period. Can Man City get the goal that they need? We shall find out! Real Madrid resume the action here...


The referee brings the first period to a close with Real Madrid leading 1-0 courtesy of a Fernando own-goal in the 20th minute. Bale was initially credited with the strike, but UEFA have changed the call to a Fernando effort in the last couple of minutes! Man City have work to do and they will have to turn the game around without influential captain Kompany, who limped off!


45 min+2 HALF-TIME: Real Madrid 1-0 Man City

45 min+1 We are into the first of two additional minutes at the end of the first period.

44 min POST! So close! Wonderful chance for Man City as De Bruyne slides a super pass into Fernandinho, who attempts to find the bottom corner, but his effort strikes the post!

44 min Hart is down to keep out a strike from Bale, which had direction and power.

43 min Toure releases Clichy with a super pass, but the left-back cannot take the ball in his path and Carvajal is across to force the Frenchman back inside. It has been a decent few minutes for Man City, but they are really struggling to make their mark in the final third of the field tonight.

41 min Man City manage to force a corner after Carvajal blocks a Clichy cross. The resulting set piece is delivered by De Bruyne, but Navas comes a long way to take the pressure off his defensive unit.

39 min Possession for the home side as we approach the final five minutes of the first period. As it stands, Man City are still very much in this semi-final, but a second goal would make it much more difficult. Marcelo breaks down the left for Real Madrid, but his cross is too strong for those in the middle.

36 min GOAL DISALLOWED! Real Madrid have the ball in the back of the net as Ramos converts from close range, but Ramos and Pepe were both in offside positions. Let-off for the away side there!

36 min The referee brings the play back as Fernandinho dives into Kroos and the Brazilian is fortunate to escape a yellow card. Man City just need to keep their heads in the latter stages of the first period.

34 min Half-chance for the away side as Navas delivers a super ball into the Real Madrid box, but Carvajal is across to clear ahead of Aguero, who looked to be favourite to tap home from close range.

32 min We have not seen an awful lot from Aguero in the opening 32 minutes and credit must be given to Ramos and Pepe, who have been first to everything for the home side here. Ramos is first to Aguero in the most recent attack, however, and Man City win a free kick in the opposition half!

30 min BOOKING! De Bruyne (Man City) is booked for a late challenge on Marcelo.

30 min Man City are really struggling to keep hold of the ball here, but De Bruyne looks dangerous when he is given space to turn in the final third. The visitors manage to enjoy a spell of possession in the final third of the field, but De Bruyne cannot control a pass from Toure and Marcelo is across.

27 min... Kroos delivers towards Ramos, but Hart manages to punch clear. Just a reminder that any score draw would see Man City through so the visitors are still well in this semi-final at the Bernabeu.

26 min Sagna chops Ronaldo to the deck and Real Madrid have a free kick in a wide position here...

24 min Isco sets up Ronaldo on the edge of the Man City box as the home side threaten once again, but the 31-year-old's effort was always too high. Man City really need to find a way to settle here.

22 min Half-chance for the visitors, but Fernando heads a De Bruyne corner over the target.

21 min Breakthrough! Real Madrid take the lead in the 20th minute as Carvajal slides a super pass into Bale and the Welshman's right-footed strike finds the top corner via a fernando deflection! It had been coming!

20 min GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Man City (Own Goal- Fernando)

20 min Marcelo looks to release Ronaldo down the left, but the Portuguese and stayed and Man City can build from the back. Moments before, Modric was unfortunate not to win a free kick outside the box following a late challenge from Fernando. Still goalless with 20 minutes on the clock at the Bernabeu.

18 min Not an awful lot to report in terms of chances in the last few moments, but Real Madrid are the team on the front foot as they continue to attack down the left. Ronaldo has been moving pretty well in the opening 18 minutes and has, so far, come the closest to making the breakthrough here.

16 min Man City are struggling to keep the ball at the moment as the home side continue to make ground in the final third. Kompany's injury seems to have harmed the visitors and that is no real surprise.

13 min CHANCE! First sight of goal for the home side as Carvajal delivers onto the head of Ronaldo from a wide position, but the attacker's effort was always too high. Let-off for Man City there!

12 min Man City have to regroup after losing their skipper, who has just been unable to shake off a whole host of muscular problems this season. Mangala has the speed and physique to deal with Real Madrid's attack, but there are serious question marks over the Frenchman's positional work.


10 min MAN CITY SUB! Mangala replaces Kompany for the away side.

10 min... the replays do not look great. That could be the end of Kompany's night. You have to feel for the big Belgian, who has had so many injury problems and is such a big player for this football club.

9 min Man City have a problem here as Kompany hits the deck and stays there...

8 min Aguero has the chance to face-up to Pepe, but the Real Madrid centre-back is on hand to make the challenge. Eventually the ball is fed into De Bruyne, but Carvajal is across to close down the space.

6 min Just a reminder that tonight's winner will face Atletico Madrid in the final of the competition on May 28. Will it be a repeat of the 2014 final between the two Madrid giants? The home side have the chance to threaten with a corner from the left, but Hart manages to collect after Pepe made contact.

4 min Jese is playing through the middle for the home side tonight, with Bale on the right and Ronaldo on the left. Not too much to report in terms of attacking football in the opening four minutes - it is all a little bit nervy. Man City have their first chance to break with Navas, but his cross fails to find a teammate.

2 min... it must be said that there is a wonderful atmosphere inside the stadium tonight. As expected, Real Madrid are enjoying early possession as they move the ball from left to right. Man City will be more than happy to sit in and play on the counter-attack, especially while the score is still goalless.

0 min KICKOFF! Here we go then - the pre-match handshakes have been undertaken and the flags have been exchanged. The time for talking is over. We are level at 0-0 in the tie and a spot in the final of the 2016 Champions League is on offer! It is the away side that kick things off inside the Bernabeu...

( Hide )
  1. OH, WHAT A SWEET QUALIFICATION! I WANT REAL MADRID ALL THE WAY SO THAT RONALDO WILL BECOME WORLD BEST AGAIN. Emjay, Abuja.

    ReplyDelete

Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)

Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com

© Copyright © 2023 NigerianEye.com | Your Online Nigerian Newspaper | All Rights Reserved