By Thato Setilo – Manchester City have a slender advantage over Real Madrid when the teams face each other on the second leg of the UEFA Champions League at the Eithiad stadium, after playing in a 1-1 draw in the first leg on Tuesday 9 May 2023 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

City dominated possession in the first half but it was Real who opened the scoring after Vinicious Jr scored in the 36th minute after linking well with Eduardo Camivinga and Luka Modric.

CITY HOLD SLIGHT EDGE OVER REAL IN UEFA RETURN LEG

Pep Guardiola’s side stayed patient with the ball and it was finally rewarded when Kevin de Bruyne struck a thundering shot past goal keeper Thibaut Courtois in the 67th minute to make it 1-1.

A moment of controversy for took place in the lead up to City’s equalizer when the ball appeared to be out of play before Bernardo Silva hooked it back in the central area in the build-up to the goal. Carlo Ancelotti was shown a yellow card after he was furious with the fourth official after the equalizer, gesturing that the ball had gone out of play.

Former Arsenal Manager and now FIFA’s chief football development Arsene Wenger said suggested that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) should’ve intervened.

“The VAR should normally check if a goal is regular or not. In a situation like that they have to intervene. They did not go far enough back to check if the ball was out or not, or they had not the potential to check if the ball was out or not. I think I would go for the second because normally VAR cannot check on the sideline, only on the baseline, the goal line.”

Manchester City, who have not lost at home in this season’s competition, will host 14-time and defending champions Real Madrid in the return leg on Wednesday 17 May 2023.

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