Manchester City played out a goalless draw against Real Madrid in their first ever Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.
Madrid were without the prolific Cristiano Ronaldo and were even forced to withdraw Karim Benzema early on with a suspected injury. David Silva was also forced off for the home side in the first half.
Both teams battled for possession in the first half and barely tested either of the two goalkeepers. Madrid opened up in the second 45 and moved forward more than the hosts, having the better opportunities and testing Hart on a few occasions as well. City lacked any sort of firepower up front and it took them the whole of the 90 minutes to bring out a meaningful save from Keylor Navas.
City will be glad not to have conceded an away goal as they head into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu in a week’s time. Meanwhile, Real Madrid will be hopeful of having their key players back from injury.
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Manchester City
Joe Hart – 8: Made a couple of outstanding saves to prevent his side from conceding an away goal. England’s no.1 was in fine form but was not tested as much as he would have expected.
Bacary Sagna – 5: A very good effort defensively, but struggled to make any meaningful forward runs.
Nicolas Otamendi – 5: Had to bank on the experience of Vincent Kompany to help him out on a few occasions as the Argentine looked a bit edgy while defending.
Vincent Kompany – 7: City’s captain returned to the starting lineup and had a solid game against the competition’s 10 time winners.
Gael Clichy –6: Was given the difficult task of keeping Gareth Bale in check and barring a couple of efforts on goal, Clichy did his job well.
Fernando –6: Held the midfield perfectly with Fernandinho, preventing Madrid from playing those killer through balls from midfield.
Fernandinho – 7: Broke-up most of the opposition attacks and was quick to start a City counter whenever possible.
Jesus Navas –6.5: The Spaniard undoubtedly has incredible pace and skill when on the ball, but struggled with his end product as he has for most of this season.
David Silva – 5: The Spaniard was taken of injured just around the half-hour mark and was definitely the missing spark in City’s attacks.
Kevin De Bruyne – 7: The Belgian was arguably the best of City’s attacking players and was constantly trying to find a killer pass whenever he was on the ball. Nearly gave the hosts the win in the dying seconds of the game with a fine free-kick attempt.
Sergio Aguero – 5: The Argentine put in a satisfactory performance at the Etihad, not something we have seen a lot this season. Much was expected of the 27-year-old, but he could barely manage a shot on target.
Substitutes
Kalechi Iheanacho – 5: Replaced Silva in the first-half and although you could not blame him for lack of effort, the youngster did not make any meaningful contribution.
Raheem Sterling – 4: Had a good chance towards the end of the game but his poor touch let him down.
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