{"id":26147,"date":"2022-05-04T18:44:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T22:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26147"},"modified":"2022-05-06T10:46:42","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T14:46:42","slug":"real-madrids-late-magic-sends-them-to-meet-liverpool-in-champions-league-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26147","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid’s Late Magic Sends Them To Meet Liverpool In Champions League Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pep Guardiola\u2019s side were moments away from booking a second successive final appearance when Real Madrid delivered a sucker punch (PA Wire\/PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Manchester City are left nursing yet more Champions League heartbreak after Real Madrid produced the most astonishing of a growing list of incredible comebacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pep Guardiola\u2019s side were moments away from booking a second successive final appearance, and setting up an all-English showpiece against rivals Liverpool in Paris, when Real caught them with a stunning sucker punch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading 1-0 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate after Riyad Mahrez\u2019s 73rd-minute strike in a tense semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu, City were rocked when Brazilian Rodrygo struck a quickfire double with 90 minutes on the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sent an epic tie into extra time and City never recovered from the shock, conceding again soon after when Ruben Dias felled Karim Benzema and the prolific Frenchman stepped up to convert the resulting penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It meant yet another near miss for City and Guardiola after last year\u2019s runners-up finish, while further enhancing 13-times champion Real\u2019s mystique after their fightbacks against Paris St Germain and Chelsea in the previous rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were close,\u201d said Guardiola

kupbezrecepty.com<\/a><\/p> , whose wait to add to the two Champions League successes he enjoyed as Barcelona manager in 2009 and 2011 goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is tough for us, we cannot deny that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were so close to arriving in the Champions League final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t play good in the first half. We didn\u2019t find our game but that is normal in this competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe second half was much better. After the goal we had control, we found our game but unfortunately we could not finish when we were close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahrez\u2019s effort gave City a two-goal cushion for the fourth time in the tie but, as in last week\u2019s classic first encounter at the Etihad Stadium, they missed chances to add to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time they were unfortunate when substitute Jack Grealish had a shot cleared off the line by Ferland Mendy with three minutes remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defeat and the manner of it will be a shattering blow to a side with such high expectations but they need to recover quickly ahead of a crunch Premier League game against Newcastle on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City lead the table by just one point from Liverpool ahead of both sides\u2019 35th fixtures this weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need time now, one or two days, but we will rise,\u201d said Guardiola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real\u2019s victory set up a repeat of a final played twice before. Liverpool beat the Spanish giants in 1981, also in Paris, but Real triumphed in Kyiv as they claimed their record 13th success four years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real\u2019s manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was in charge of Liverpool\u2019s neighbors Everton a year ago, has now reached a record five finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on his side\u2019s latest amazing recovery, the Italian said: \u201cThe game was close to being finished but we managed to find the last energy we had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cannot say we are used to living this kind of life, but what happened here happened against Chelsea and also against Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you have to say why, it is the history of this club that helps us to keep going when it seems that we are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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