Real Madrid vs Man City score, result from Champions League as Vinicius and De Bruyne stunners leave semi level

Dom Farrell

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Real Madrid vs Man City score, result from Champions League as Vinicius and De Bruyne stunners leave semi level image

Kevin De Bruyne hauled Manchester City level in the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid after Vinicius Junior gave the hosts and holders the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu.

City were beaten in Madrid in dramatic circumstances in last season's semis but began tonight by dominating the action, with Thibaut Courtois making saves to deny De Bruyne and Rodri before a couple of routine stops from Erling Haaland.

Madrid grew into the contest and, after Ruben Dias made a goal-saving block to thwart Karim Benzema, Vinicius arrowed in his 15th Champions League goal from 25 yards to put the holders in the driving seat.

Carlo Ancelotti's men were in the ascendancy after the break, with City's defending increasingly last-ditch, but De Bruyne again demonstrated his big-game credentials with a blistering low drive from distance.

Benzema forced a fine save from Ederson as the clock ticked down, while Haaland's threat was negligible after David Alaba made a brilliant block on the Norway star early in the second half.

Ederson then kept out another thunderous drive from substitute Aurelien Tchouameni to ensure the sides will reconvene in Manchester at 1-1 eight days from now.

Real Madrid vs Man City final score

  1H 2H Final  Goalscorers
Real Madrid 1 0 1 Vinicius (36)
Man City 0 1 1 De Bruyne (67)

MORE: Real Madrid vs Man City head to head history and all Champions League matches over the years

Lineups:

Real Madrid (4-3-3, right to left): 1-Thibaut Courtois (GK) — 2-Dani Carvajal, 22-Antonio Rudiger, 4-David Alaba, 12-Eduardo Camavinga — 15-Federico Valverde, 8-Toni Kroos (18-Aurelien Tchouameni), 10-Luka Modric (6-Nacho Fernandez) — 21-Rodrygo Goes (11-Marco Asensio), 9-Karim Benzema, 20-Vinicius Junior

Man City: (4-2-3-1 right to left): 31-Ederson (GK) — 2-Kyle Walker, 5-John Stones, 3-Ruben Dias, 25-Manuel Akanji —16-Rodri, 8-Ilkay Gundogan — 20-Bernardo Silva, 17-Kevin De Bruyne, 10-Jack Grealish — 9-Erling Haaland

Is Vinicius Jr one of the best players in the world?

Madrid sports daily AS claimed this game would be the story of "a magician and a machine" on its front page, talking up the confrontation between Vinicius and Haaland. Aside from a couple of half-chances, City’s No.9 resided on the margins. That’s sometimes a centre-forward’s lot, but Vinicius was dazzling. 

Effectively shackled early on by Kyle Walker, he ducked in-field to locate some open space and fire magnificently beyond Ederson after Luka Modric and the excellent Eduardo Camavinga orchestrated a game-breaking attack.

As Lionel Messi reportedly prepares to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia for his autumn years, much of the conversation has been around the prospect of a Haaland and Kylian Mbappe era. Vinicius absolutely merits being part of this equation.

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Why didn’t Pep Guardiola make any substitutions against Real Madrid?

It comes down to one word. Control.

That’s why the attacking riches of Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez stayed kicking their heels on the bench. Control is the aspect Guardiola prizes above all others, especially in a competition where he has been burnt so many times. Especially against a team as dangerous as Real Madrid on the counter-attack.

As City laboured during the second half, their manager would undoubtedly have liked more control. However, the attacking midfielders he trusts most in this regard — Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan — were already on the field. Foden and Alvarez might have prevented Haaland from being so isolated, but they might also have coughed up more transitions for Madrid to feed off.

As we sit all square at the midway point of 180 minutes, that was the calculation Guardiola made. We will see whether or not it pays off next week.

Who are Real Madrid and Man City playing next?

Although they’ll be the happier of the two sides with their home leg to come, City might have let a key advantage slip tonight. Last weekend, Guardiola was able to make wholesale changes for the 2-1 win over Leeds United. Madrid, by contrast, had to beat Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final.

Now, with Barcelona all-but crowned La Liga champions, we should probably keep an eye out for if any Madrid players turn up for their game against Getafe in smoking jackets and crushed-velvet slippers.

City, by contrast, have to travel to face an Everton side scrapping for their lives with little margin for error in the Premier League title race. It’s hard to see them being able to rest up as effectively as Madrid before the return. 

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Real Madrid vs Man City live updates, highlights from the Champions League semi final

Fulltime: If City had to pick a Madrid player to aim a last-ditch shot from range, with respect, it would probably be Nacho. A deflection loops into Ederson's gloves. He's had a fine game and, along with De Bruyne, he is responsible for City heading into the second leg all square. That was absorbing stuff. Let's do it all again in Manchester in eight days' time!

90th minute+2: It's Madrid pushing for the winner as Walker blocks from Camavinga. Are City going to let another last-minute goal in on this ground?

90th minute: There'll be three minutes of stoppage time and there's two balls on the pitch! The Madrid crowd are furious with the referee but that's really not his fault.

88th minute: Some serious shots going on tonight! Tchouameni with a piledriver. Ederson gets a strong arm up to turn over.

86th minute: Silva, who has struggled this half, gives a freekick away in a dangerous position. Modric over it. Rodri gets up at the back post, Rudiger outmuscles Akanji for Madrid to win a corner. Nacho comes on for Modric, which you assume means Camavinga into midfield.

81st minute: Asensio is on for Rodrygo. Tchouameni will also be entering the fray soon.

80th minute: The first substitution of this engrossing affair is coming up. Asensio ready on the touchline for Madrid. It's been a brutal night to go unchanged for 80 minutes.

79th minute: Camavinga is spending a lot of time in the City half. He didn't much fancy chasing back then and is booked for bringing down Rodri.

78th minute: Marvellous save from Ederson! Kroos floats an enticing ball towards the back post, Benzema gets his head on it and the Brazilian goalkeeper gets a strong hand to it.

77th minute: Valverde bustles past Akanji down the right. He might have tried going down for a penalty but doesn't. Stones clears the cross.

72nd minute: Gundogan is booked for a cynical trip on Carvajal. Alaba tries a shot from out on the right wing that flies over. All the people wearing white shirts in the penalty are obviously delighted.

67th minute: GGGOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Kevin De Bruyne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my word! Another goal against the run of play and another screamer against the run of play. Rodri does the sort of snaffling job City haven't been doing enough of in this half. Gundogan knocks the ball back to De Bruyne about 25 yards out. Where Vinicius went high, he goes low, obliterating the ball beyond Courtois.

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65th minute: Stones now with a block. Camavinga instigated that attack by coming in-field. Madrid's fullbacks coming into midfield, Madrid winning all the second balls. They're out-Citying City.

64th minute: Dias tackles Rodrygo, who dances past Akanji and Grealish. City clear Modric's corner bit there's a sense that they're living on their wits a bit here.

62nd minute: Grealish gets back to deny Valverde, who bundles into the box. Cries for handball but nothing doing.

60th minute: Rodri turns a Vinicius cross behind and Madrid's pressure continues. A long-ranger from Valverde then sails over. City are wobbling here.

58th minute: From the corner the ball falls to Rodryo. Deflection off Grealish, that'll be another one.

57th minute: That man VInicius jinks into space and tries to pull a shot towards the far post. Stones deflects it behind. For a moment that looked like it might be an own goal.

56th minute: Taken short, De Bruyne punts towards Akanji but it sails out for a goalkick.

55th minute: De Bruyne and Gundogan combine to release Haaland. Now he can stretch his legs. Alaba gets back with a magnificent challenge. City corner.

54th minute: De Bruyne looks to curl one past Courtois left footed but that's routine for the Madrid keeper.

52nd minute: Excellent stop from Courtois! Bernardo Silva releases De Bruyne with a pass off the right and again Courtois comes out on top in the battle of the Belgians. It was flagged offside on the field but that one was tight.

51st minute: Rodri does very well 1v1 against Vinicius. He wins the ball and then avoids handballing it as he tumbles. No margins for error.

50th minute: Vinicius, Benzema and Caravjal all combine in an inventive move that ends with Benzema firing goalwards. Stones' challenge turns the bal behind.

49th minute: This is tense. Madrid are enjoying more of the ball than they did during the same period in the first half. The next goal here is huge.

46th minute: We're back underway, no changes for either side.

Halftime: Real Madrid had to soak up a lot of pressure during the first half hour but Vinicius showed exactly what makes him one of the most magical players in the world at the moment with a stupendous long-range goal. That's the difference right now and things were getting a bit heated before the break. Guardiola has a frank exchange of views with one of the referee's assistants before heading down the tunnel. See you back here shortly.

45th minute+2: Having been smacked in the head by Rudiger, Gundogan is cleaned out by another fellow Germany international. Kroos gets booked.

45th minute+1: Carvajal and Grealsh continuing the argument and the referee tells them both to grow up, or words to that effect.

45th minute: Haha, what a load of nonsense. Carvajal barges Grealish off the pitch as De Bruyne's cross goes out of play. He then has a word with the England man, who reacts and Carvajal throws himself on the floor. Referee Dias has no interest in giving anyone a card and Alaba picks his teammate up, seemingly taking exception to the whole sorry scene.

42nd minute: Gundogan flashes a ball across the face of the Madrid goal but there's no one there.

40th minute: City are trying to regroup but they're giving Madrid more transitional opportunities than they were during the opening half an hour. It feels like a big five minutes for Guardiola's men to get through without sustaining any further damage.

36th minute: GGGOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Vinicius Junior!!!!!

Oh my word, what an unbelievable strike! Modric gets Madrid moving with a clever pass around Silva. Camavinga streams forward and finds Vinicius. The Brazilian lets fly from 25 yards. Ederson doesn't sniff it. A magnificent goal.

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35th minute: Excellent, searching ball from Valverde towards Benzema. The striker handles under pressure from Dias and Stones and is penalised as he sets it back towards Rodrygo. This is Madrid's best spell of the game.

34th minute: It's not just Manchesterr City who can shape-shift. Benzema gets out to the left and releases Camavinga to win a corner. City deal with the danger but haven't recovered their rhythm since the stoppage for Gundogan - who seems to be fine - to receive treatment.

32nd minute: Grealish uncharacteristically gives the ball away and a cross from the Madrid right just evades Vinicius.

31st minute: A groggy Gundogan looks like he's going to try and continue. It won't be lost on the City players that an accidental collision with Rudiger - then at Chelsea - during the 2021 final left De Bruyne with a broken cheekbone.

28th minute: Rudiger thuds into Gundogan, no free-kick. Madrid then recover possession and break, at which point the referee stops the game. One of those rare bits of officiating that displeases absolutely everyone. Well done!

25th minute: Incredible block by Ruben Dias!!! Vinicius picks Rodri's pocket, gets down the left and sends a teasing low cross into the goalmouth. A sliding Dias hooks it clear. Benzema was waiting to tap home and it would have been very easy for the Portugal international to put that into his own net. That's brilliant defending.

23rd minute: Whistles almost deafening in the Bernabeu on account of City not giving the hosts a kick for long periods. Throw another ball on and let the other lads have a go! Still, no real clear-cut chances created by Guardiola's men.

20th minute: John Stones burst forward from his hybrid defender/midfielder role and Camavinga brings him down right on the edge of the box. Curiously, referee Dias plays advantage and the passage ends up with Gundogan shooting over before explaining to the official that he's really have much rathered the free-kick on the 18 yard line.

18th minute: Rodrygo darts inside Akanji and threads a ball for Benzema. Ederson gets out well to claim it at the Frenchman's feet. Madrid's most threatening moment so far.

16th minute: Grealish, who's moving very nicely now, gets around the outside of Carvajal and stands up a ball to the far post. Haaland is on the end of it, that's a good header, but Courtois mops up.

15th minute: De Bruyne slips the ball to Haaland for his first sight of goal. It's a half chance at best and the shot is too close to Courtois.

14th minute: Rodri cracks a sweet low strike form distance. He scored a beauty against Bayern Munich in the previous round, remember. Courtois gets down with a strong arm to turn it behind. Another deep corner and Carvajal manages to bundle Haaland away from Silva's chip back into the box.

12th minute: Walker snuffs out Vinicius' latest raid and City play their way tidily out of trouble.

11th minute: Carvajal aims a big, booming ball out to Benzema, who's drifted off the left. It just runs straight through to Ederson, though. I'm not sure booting the ball back to City as soon as they get it is the greatest idea for Madrid.

10th minute: A City right-wing corner goes deep towards the diminutive Silva. That can't have been the plan. 

8th minute: Rudiger gets up with Haaland but the ball falls to De Bruyne in a good position. The Belgium international gets the ball back from Silva and his compatriot Courtois gets down to his left to beat away a 20-yard strike.

7th minute: Madrid struggling to get out of their own third. Haaland tries to engineer some room in the box but is crowded out.

6th minute: City are hogging the ball. It's been a scorching hot day in Madrid and it could be a very tiring night to chase.

5th minute: Nothing much came of that but City won the second ball, knocked it around a bit and Carvajal blocked a speculative shot from Gundogan.

4th minute: A deft touch from Benzema gives Vinicius room to stretch his legs. The return pass towards Benzema is dealt with untidily by Dias and Stones but dealt with Nevertheless. Up the other end, City win a right-wing corner.

3rd minute: Rudiger pulls Haaland over. City free-kick about 40 yards out. The Madrid defender offers his man some presumably choice observations.

2nd minute: Grealish slipped into that challenge and he's hobbling a bit. Probably one to run off, mind.

1st minute: City get under way. Ederson tests Rudiger out with his first boom towards Haaland. Vinicius and Walker enjoy an early duel. Then Grealish clatters into Rodrygo - good evening!

2 mins from kickoff: Here they come. The last time some of these City players looked out across a packed Bernabeu they had just suffered one of the most crushing setbacks of their careers. Are there mental scars for Madrid to pick at early on? Has Erling Haaland just told his colleagues that everything will be sound this time? We're about to find out.

5 mins from kickoff: The teams are in the tunnel, the Bernabeu is raucous and David Beckham is in the stands. As a former Real Madrid player who starred in the historic Manchester United treble that City are trying to emulate 24 years  on, no prizes for guessing who he's backing tonight.

20 mins from kickoff: Vinicius is another player posting ludicrous numbers this season. Madrid sports daily AS dubbed this game "A magician and a machine" this morning, anticipating the Vinicius vs Haaland showdown.

40 mins from kickoff: Most of the personnel from last season remains but there is one key addition. Real Madrid batted their considerable eyelashes at Erling Haaland before the striker chose Manchester City. A year and 51 goals in all competitions later, Haaland will lead the charge as City aim to win the one major honour that has eluded them over the past decade. His Champions League record is ridiculous.

1 hour from kickoff: Kyle Walker has had an up-and-down season at City, with Guardiola's tweak to a preferred 3-2-4-1 since the World Cup meaning he is no longer a guaranteed starter. However, he will be called upon here to try and do a job on Vinicius. Walker was ruled out of the first leg of last season's semifinal through injury and managed 72 minutes before hobbling out of the action at the Bernabeu. City conceded six goals over the course of the two legs. How many of those did they let in with Walker on the field? Zero.

1 hr 20 mins from kickoff: Ah, Guardiola has gone a bit early too. With Nathan Ake out injured again, it's the same XI that beat title rivals Arsenal 4-1 in the Premier League at the end of last month. Kyle Walker will be on Vinicius duty.

1 hr 30 mins from kickoff: Just in case you need a reminder of what happened in last season's semifinal, City dominated the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, but could only squeeze out a 4-3 win having led 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2. Guardiola's side just could not shake Madrid and that proved pivotal in the return at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Riyad Mahrez had the Premier League champions 1-0 up on the night heading into injury time when Rodrygo netted twice to force an additional period. City appeared physically and emotionally shattered and had no response to a Karim Benzema penalty that sent Los Blancos through to the final.

1 hr 45 mins from kickoff: As is his wont on these occasions, Carlo Ancelotti has popped out his teamsheet way earlier than he needs to. It's pretty much as you'd expect from Madrid, with Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema and Rodrygo Goes starting as the three-pronged attack. At various points, all of them thoroughly enjoyed last season's semi. Antonio Rudiger is in at centre-back for the suspended Eder Militao, with a mano-e-mano confrontation against Erling Haaland seemingly on the cards. In 45 minutes, Ancelotti will get to raise a quizzical eyebrow at whatever Pep Guardiola has cooked up.

2 hours from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage on the Champions League semifinal, first leg between Real Madrid and Manchester City. After the unforgettable drama of last season's meeting, will it be repeat or revenge?

Real Madrid vs Man City lineups

Ferland Mendy remains sidelined with the calf injury that has kept him out since March 19, with Eduardo Camavinga will continuing at left-back. 

Dani Ceballos is fit enough for a place on the bench after a muscular injury but Eder Militao is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Luka Modric and Antonio Rudiger were both benched during their side's Copa del Rey final win over Osasuna but return for this one.

Real Madrid lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1-Thibaut Courtois (GK) — 2-Dani Carvajal, 22-Antonio Rudiger, 4-David Alaba, 12-Eduardo Camavinga — 15-Federico Valverde, 8-Toni Kroos, 10-Luka Modric — 21-Rodrygo Goes, 9-Karim Benzema, 20-Vinicius Junior

Real Madrid substitutes: 13-Andriy Lunin (GK), 26-Luis Lopez (GK), 5-Jesus Vallejo, 6-Nacho Fernandez, 7-Eden Hazard, 11-Marco Asensio, 16-Alvaro Odriozola, 17-Lucas Vasquez, 18-Aurelien Tchouameni, 19-Dani Ceballos, 24-Mariano Diaz

Nathan Ake (calf) being sidelined feels like a big miss for City. Manuel Akanji will once again fill in at left-back, with Guardiola naming the same XI that beat Arsenal 4-1 in the Premier League at the end of last month.

Kyle Walker starts at right-back and his one-on-one defensive capabilities against Vinicius could prove vital.

Man City: (4-2-3-1): 31-Ederson (GK) — 2-Kyle Walker, 5-John Stones, 3-Ruben Dias, 25-Manuel Akanji —16-Rodri, 8-Ilkay Gundogan — 20-Bernardo Silva, 17-Kevin De Bruyne, 10-Jack Grealish — 9-Erling Haaland

Man City substitutes: 18-Stefan Ortega (GK), 33-Scott Carson (GK), 4-Kalvin Phillips, 14-Aymeric Laporte, 19-Julian Alvarez, 21-Sergio Gomez, 26-Riyad Mahrez, 47-Phil Foden, 80-Cole Palmer, 82-Rico Lewis

Real Madrid vs Man City live stream, TV channel

  TV channel Streaming
Australia — Stan Sport
Canada — DAZN
Hong Kong — beIN Sports Connect
India — JioTV, Sony LIV
Malaysia beIN Sports 3 beIN Sports Connect,
sooka
New Zealand — Spark Sport
Singapore beIN Sports 3 beIN Sports Connect,
StarHubTV+
UK BT Sport 1 BT Sport site/app
USA

CBS, Univision

 Fubo, Paramount+, ViX, ViX+

UK: The match will be broadcast on BT Sport 1 and streamed on BT Sport platforms.

USA: This match will shown on CBS (English) and Univision (Spanish), and those channels can be streamed on Fubo. There is also a stream on Paramount+ (English) and another on ViX.com for subscribers.

Canada: Every Champions League game streams live on DAZN.

Australia: Every UEFA Champions League match streams ad-free on Stan Sport, live and on demand.

MORE: How old is Ancelotti? Contract, salary and trophies in Madrid

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.