Real Madrid Vs Man City played out a thrilling 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal clash at the Santiago Bernabeu. The match was a rematch of last season's dramatic last-four contest, and it did not disappoint.
The holders, Madrid, withstood City's dominance in the first half before Vinicius Junior capped a lightning break with an unstoppable long-range effort in the 36th minute to give the hosts the lead.
However, the visitors responded with a sensational shot of their own midway through the second half, as Kevin De Bruyne beat Thibaut Courtois from outside the box to bring the tie level.
Despite Madrid threatening to extend their lead, the match ended in a draw, leaving everything to play for in next Wednesday's second leg.
Last year's semifinal saw Madrid come back from a two-goal deficit in the 90th minute of the second leg at the Bernabeu to win in extra time. As such, Pep Guardiola's side will likely be the happier to walk away from the Spanish capital with the score tied heading to Manchester.
For a long time on Tuesday, it looked like it would be another classic Madrid Champions League victory. City dominated possession and suffocated the hosts with their pressing, but Madrid's deep-sitting defense was largely able to restrict them to half-chances.
Despite finishing the first half with almost 70% possession, City's deficit was almost doubled right after half-time as Madrid continued attacking. Karim Benzema came close to scoring a 21st Champions League goal against English opposition, and an ambitious penalty appeal for a handball against Jack Grealish was waved away.
But unlike last year, City did not wilt under the pressure. In the 67th minute, Rodri intercepted a pass from Eduardo Camavinga deep inside Madrid's half, and Ilkay Gundogan laid the ball off to De Bruyne, who was allowed the space to line up a perfectly struck drive past Courtois to pull City level.
Madrid still had another chance to get the advantage for the second leg, but Ederson produced a one-handed stop to keep out a far-post header from Benzema as Man City extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 21 games.
"It was a shame that we conceded that goal," Madrid midfielder Luka Modric said. "I think we deserved more. They had more possession but didn't create a lot of chances. It's still 50-50, and we will go into the second match with confidence."
The two sides will now meet again at the Etihad Stadium in eight days for the right to move to the final against either AC Milan or Inter Milan. Madrid, the record 14-time winners of the competition, have shown time and again in recent years that they can never be written off and are unlikely to worry about the task that awaits them in Manchester.