The match between Man City and host Real Madrid is undeniably the “early final” of this year’s Champions League. Both gave a classy performance with the highlight being the brilliant shine of the stars.In the 2nd minute, Bernardo Silva (Man City) left the Bernabeu stadium stunned with a more mischievous free kick.

Man City received a free kick outside the penalty area, slightly to the left wing, about 30 meters from the goal.

When all the players on the field were waiting for a ball from Bernardo Silva, the Portuguese player surprised him.

Bernardo Silva shot a low ball into the near corner. Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid) stood in the far corner to catch the ball but was unable to react in time. 1-0 for Man City with a moment of genius from Bernardo Silva.

In this defeat, Real Madrid players were somewhat subjective in not having enough people as a fence. Eduardo Camavinga alone is not enough to prevent Bernardo Silva’s mischievous handling.

But Real Madrid quickly proved why they are the kings of the Champions League. The Royal Spanish football team only needed 2 minutes (from minutes 12 to 14) to assert their position. In the 12th minute, Eduardo Camavinga dribbled boldly and then shot a long shot outside the penalty area. The ball hit midfielder Ruben Dias (Man City) and changed direction, causing goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to give up. 1-1 for Real Madrid.

Two minutes later, Toni Kroos made a delicate pass for Rodrygo to escape down the left wing. The Brazilian striker dribbled the ball into the penalty area and then fired a low shot enough to beat Ortega and score to increase the score to 2-1.

In this situation, Man City’s two central defenders, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias, who have superior physical strength, could not stop Rodrygo’s ingenuity.

In the following minutes, Man City controlled the ball more, but Real Madrid was the proactive team. Coach Carlo Ancelotti’s team defended tightly and continuously created sharp counterattacks.

However, Real Madrid’s strikers could not take advantage of the success. The most unfortunate of these was Vinicius’ close-range shot into the sky in the 55th minute.

Surely Vinicius will regret this miss because not long after that, Man City scored 2 consecutive goals, taking the lead 3-2. In the 66th minute, Phil Foden had a familiar shot from outside the penalty area, pinning the ball into the top corner of the goal, equalizing the score 2-2 for Man City.

Five minutes later, defender Joško Gvardiol launched a beautiful right-footed shot that made Lunin give up, helping Man City lead Real Madrid 3-2.

Both of Man City’s goals showed that Real Madrid’s midfield did not play really well by revealing too much space in front of the 16m50 area.

But Man City could not leave with such an easy victory. In the 79th minute, Vinicius dropped the ball beautifully from the left wing so that Federico Valverde could run down and volley the ball live. The ball sank straight into the far corner of the goal, causing goalkeeper Ortega to just stand and watch, equalizing 3-3 for Real Madrid.

In the remaining minutes, Real Madrid played more enthusiastically and also threatened Man City’s goal a few times, but the final score was 3-3. With this result, Man City has a slight advantage when playing the quarter-final second leg at home. This match will take place next week.