Real Madrid News
Five key stats from Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City
Fans were treated to a quality encounter on Tuesday night as Real Madrid and Manchester City played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-finals at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Two special strikes from Vinicius Jr and Kevin De Bruyne for their respective teams ensured that Real Madrid and Man City go into the second leg at the Etihad Stadium on equal footing with all to play for.
Both teams enjoyed spells of domination with most of Real Madrid’s threat coming through their goalscorer Vinicius Jr.
The Brazilian scored a stunning goal against the Cityzens, which means that he has now had a goal involvement in each of his last ten appearances across all competitions for the Merengues.
Furthermore, the Brazilian speedster became the third-youngest South American footballer to score 15 goals in the UEFA Champions League (22y 301d), with only Lionel Messi (21y 288d) and Rodrygo Goes (22y 99d) reaching the milestone before him.
While Vinicius was the star of the show, and rightly so, fellow youngster Eduardo Camavinga was not to be left behind. Starting as a makeshift left-back yet again, the 20-year-old left his mark on the game.
The Frenchman got the assist for Vinicius’ goal after making a tremendous run into the Man City half. Apart from that, no player won more duels than Camavinga (9). He also created 3 chances and made 7 recoveries.
While Real Madrid would have been happy to come away with a win from the first leg, a 1-1 result might not be too bad either, but there will be some concerns ahead of the second leg.
After all, Los Blancos have reached the Champions League final only twice after not winning the first leg of the semifinals. However, both those occasions came against Manchester City in 2016 and 2022.
Meanwhile, manager Carlo Ancelotti also celebrated a historic milestone on Tuesday night as he equalled Sir Alex Ferguson as the manager with the most games in Champions League history (190 each).
Real Madrid set out on a mission to change the minds of Dani Ceballos, Marco Asensio and Nacho Fernandez earlier this week. After all, all three players were contemplating a departure from the club for a gross lack of minutes.
Los Blancos’ latest approach seems to have impacted Ceballos’ position in a positive fashion. However, Fabrizio Romano reveals that it has not changed Marco Asensio’s mind.
According to the Italian journalist, the Spaniard will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season as a free agent.
Of the numerous options on his table, he sees Aston Villa and PSG to be the best bets. In fact, Villa have already submitted their opening bid for the player as revealed by Fabrizio Romano once again.
After a dramatic final day of action in the Premier League, Aston Villa finished in the European spots and will participate in the UEFA Conference League next season. While a move to the English club would be a steep step down, it will see Asensio receive regular playing time.
Paris-Saint Germain, on that front, appears the more probable destination. The French club are close to losing both Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr ahead of the new season, and Asensio would thus fit in as a starting quality winger. Moreover, they offer Champions League football.
The Spaniard’s role at Real Madrid this season has not been minor by any means considering his contributions. In 30 La Liga appearances, the 27-year-old has scored nine goals and provided six assists in addition to creating nine big chances and averaging 1.4 key passes per game.
However, that does not satisfy the winger who wishes to be a starter week in and week out. His departure in June appears to be now written in stone, and the club should feel hard done to not make a penny of his move.
Many in Los Blancos’ administration see Brahim Diaz as a direct replacement for the Spanish international if he leaves. Needless to say, the AC Milan star’s future will closely depend on Asensio’s situation.
