Manchester City routs Real Madrid en route to Champions League final
The 2023 UEFA Champions League final is set.
Manchester City — which trounced last year's winner Real Madrid 4-0 Wednesday (5-1 on aggregate) to advance to the European club game's decisive contest — will face Inter Milan for the trophy June 10 in Istanbul.
After coming back to secure a 1-1 draw last week in the two-game series opener in Spain's capital, Manchester City got off to a fast start at home with a pair of first half strikes by Bernardo Silva. In the second, an own goal by Éder Militão made it 3-0 before substitute Julián Álvarez completed the rout by adding a fourth in stoppage time.
The club's second trip to the Champions League final in three seasons; in 2021, the Sky Blues were upset by English rival Chelsea. City, which could clinch its fifth Premier League crown in six seasons this weekend, is looking to claim its first European title.
Here are three quick takeaways from Wednesday's match.
A statement win by Manchester City
It's fitting that to return to the final and take another crack at the trophy its Abu Dhabi-backed ownership group wanted more than any other when it bought the then middling club in 2008, Manchester City had to first dispatch the greatest European team of them all.
Fourteen-time champion Real Madrid's pedigree and swagger was on full display at this same stage last year when, against all odds, they rose from the mat and knocked out Man City in stoppage time of an unforgettable semifinal second leg. As soon as that comeback began in Madrid in 2022, Guardiola's side looked rattled. What happened afterward felt almost inevitable.
This year was totally different. This time, it was City's maturity and resolve that stood out. Even after Vini Jr. gave Real a lead it didn't deserve last week, the visitors never panicked, eventually clawing their way back to even terms through Kevin De Bruyne's brilliant equalizer.
The second leg was all City. The hosts were all over Carlo Ancelotti's side from the start on Wednesday, the defending champs lucky not to already be down by multiple goals by the time Silva opened the scoring 23 minutes in. (More on that later.)
Real had its moments, of course. At 1-0, Toni Kroos rocketed a long range shot off Ederson's crossbar. There was a sustained spell of pressure early in the second half.
The stats don't lie, though: City's 16 shots more than doubled their guests total. Despite having the lead for the majority of the 90 minutes, the home side also had an astonishing 60 percent of the ball. It wasn't close at all. This was a landmark victory by City — whose fans are now surely counting on another even more important triumph next month.
Only Thibaut Courtois kept Real from losing by more
It's not often that Real Madrid loses 4-0. But Ancelotti's side was fortunate not to suffer a significantly uglier defeat Wednesday, as Manchester City launched wave after wave of attack toward the visiting goal during the opening 20 minutes at the Emirates Stadium.
The best two chances fell to Erling Haaland. Against most keepers, the best striker on planet futbol would've buried both with ease. But Thibaut Courtois is not most keepers. The rangy Belgian backstop made two-point blank stops on Haaland. The second was so good it must be seen to be believed:
With the teams still tied at that point, one had to wonder if Courtois could steal the match for Real the way he did in last season's final against Liverpool. City's relentless onslaught made that impossible even for the otherworldly Courtois, who still managed to deny Haaland again when he kicked away another effort shortly before Militão turned the ball into his own net.
On a forgettable night for Real Madrid, Courtois's performance will be remembered for a long time.
This is finally the Sky Blues' time
With its seventh English title since 2012 almost a foregone conclusion at this point, Man City has been the class of the Premier League for a dozen years. Yet despite its ownership's bottomless pockets, the club still never come close to replicating that success in the Champions League.
That was supposed to end two years ago. Instead, Man City suffered the indignity of losing to a Chelsea team that finished 19 points behind them in the Prem standings. Don't expect Guardiola's squad to squander the opportunity this time.
As much as upsets can happen in one-off games, this particular City team has clearly been on a mission for months. Since February, they've methodically erased Arsenal's huge lead atop the Prem. They've advanced to the FA Cup final, putting them in line to match the historic "treble" city rival Manchester United pulled off 24 years ago. They have Haaland, the most lethal, most feared scorer there is.
After knocking off Real in such convincing fashion, there is now just this unshakable sense that this year, these Cityzens are simply too good, too deep, and are playing too well to be denied the silverware they want the most.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter at @ByDougMcIntyre.
