MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - REAL MADRID 1-1 MANCHESTER CITY

Image courtesy of theguardian.com

Manchester City put in a solid performance at the Santiago Bernabeu to take a positive result back to the Etihad Stadium for next Wednesday's UEFA Champions League semi final second leg, with the Blues now in a more favourable position than Real Madrid to reach the final in Istanbul.

City started the game in the best possible way from the viewpoint of manager Pep Guardiola, as they dominated possession and held excellent control of the game, leaving Madrid's midfield often overwhelmed and chasing shadows. However, they failed to score a goal, or even create many chances, with a low Rodri drive from outside the box, a powerful strike from Kevin de Bruyne after a lay off from Bernardo Silva, and a difficult back post header from Erling Haaland - after fine work from Jack Grealish - posing City's only real goal scoring threats in the first half an hour, and they were all dealt with comfortably by goalkeeper, and international teammate of De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois.

After 30 minute mark, Real Madrid's influence on the game started to grow, with the first warning sign coming after a sloppy pass from Rodri was capitalised on by the dangerous Vinicius Junior, who's low cross towards Karim Benzema at the back post was cut out Ruben Dias, who did brilliantly to slide in and prevent a certain goal.

Los Blancos did take the lead, however, through their man of the match Vinicius Junior, and it was a special strike. Bearing down on goal, with City's entire back 4 in his path, he cut inside and lashed the ball past Ederson from the edge of the box, with there being very little the Brazilian goalkeeper could've done to stop it. Either John Stones or Ruben Dias could've maybe done more to block the shot - or even stop the 22 year old from shooting in the first place - but, ultimately, nothing should be taken away from Vinicius for what was an excellent goal. It was also Real Madrid's first effort of the match, something that signifies just how frustratingly clinical Carlo Ancelotti's side can be in this competition in particular.

This gave Madrid the confidence and swagger that has seen them so successful in European competitions before, and, whilst the Blues did take control of the game up until half time, for a period after the break, the Real Madrid pressure seemed relentless, as the dangerous front 3 of Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo were beginning to cause City's backline some serious problems; on the other hand, they did it without creating a significant chance, something that can be taken as a positive for City.

It was somewhat out of the blue, therefore, that City equalised soon after this period of Madrid dominance. It was another remarkable goal, as club captain Ilkay Gundogan's lay off was absolutely walloped into the bottom corner from 30 yards out by Kevin de Bruyne, with City's midfield legend showing once again why he's a player for the big games.

The emotion seemed to overwhelm De Bruyne, who, after running towards the City fans with his arms aloft, sunk to his knees and covered his face with his hands as his teammates celebrated with him. The 32 year old will be absolutely desperate to win the Champions League with City, as he's arguably the club's greatest ever player and has shown up in so many occasions for City in the past. It is the one major trophy he hasn't won for City, and, if the Blues do come away with their first ever Champions League this season, and perhaps another one or two trophies to add to that, then our vice captain surely has to be in contention to win the Ballon D'or.

Real Madrid had two more half chances after that, with a dangerous back post header from Benzema and a long range effort from substitute Aurelian Tchouameni, but both were well saved by Ederson for Manchester City.

The Blues now travel to Goodison Park on Sunday, to face an Everton side coming off the back of a stunning 5-1 victory away to high flying Brighton and Hove Albion. City have an added advantage of 4 days of rest and preparation for this one, meaning we may well not see as much rotation as we usually would for this fixture, sandwiched between two huge games.

Here are the player ratings for the solid performance in Madrid:

Ederson - 8.5/10 - Distribution excellent as always, Ederson showed just how much his shot stopping has improved by pulling off numerous good saves to deny the likes of Karim Benzema and Aurellien Tchouameni. If City do win the tie, then they'll have their goalkeeper to thank for keeping them alive in the first leg.

Walker - 8/10 - Playing up against one of the best players in the world, Walker did a decent job in keeping Vinicius Junior's impact on the game to a minimum. Obviously, the Brazilian had plenty of touches, but Walker defended well in a well contested battle, between arguably the best attacking winger and best defensive right back in the world.

Stones - 7/10 - Playing slightly more conservatively than usual, as City switched between using a "3-2" and "4-2" build up, Stones didn't have as much impact in midfield as usual, however, he defended well against Benzema and Vinicius for the most part, with the only questionable moment coming when he could've arguably closed Vinicius down right before the goal.

Dias - 7.5/10 - A solid performance for Dias at the heart of defence for City, as he kept Karim Benzema very quiet, especially considering the Frenchman's impact on last year's semi final. Bonus points for the excellent sliding block that prevented Real Madrid from going 1-0 up at a time when they most definitely didn't deserve it.

Akanji - 7/10 - Considering he's by no means a left back, the 27 year old did an admirable job at left back, winning many aerial and ground duels. Other than a few times where he was beaten by Rodrygo or Federico Valverde, Akanji defended his flank well, as most of Madrid's joy came down the left hand side.

Rodri - 7.5/10 - Didn't look in any way fazed playing in the most difficult position on the pitch against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Almost too relaxed, in fact, as a loose, short pass almost presented Madrid with their opener. On another day, against another keeper, he could've scored as well, had it not been for a decent save from Courtois from the Spaniard's low strike.

De Bruyne - 8/10 - Not the best game in a City shirt for De Bruyne, although I think he did play well, and looked City's most likely goal threat for the entire game. Left his mark on the game with a simply fabulous goal, one that summed up the frustration of the last few minutes for City, followed by the elation of City being very much back in the tie, perhaps even as favourites.

Gundogan - 7/10 - Had a few very sloppy moments, including when he lost the ball and conceded a free kick and a yellow card in a dangerous position, but, other than that, City's skipper had a solid game, not looking at all out of place in the middle of a midfield full of quality.

Bernardo - 6/10 - A bit of an off day for the Portuguese, who's impact on the game was limited by the excellent Eduardo Camavinga at left back. Should also have probably got a yellow card, after an unforceful, but undeniably late and high tackle on the back of Camavinga's calf.

Haaland - 6.5/10 - It was a quiet day at the office for Erling Haaland as well. The 22 year old Norwegian was marked very tightly and aggressively by former Chelsea player Antonio Rudiger (who should've at least got a yellow card for a late clattering challenge on Gundogan.) However, I'm very confident Haaland will thrive at the Etihad Stadium meeting between these two sides, as he always seems to have that extra edge to his game when playing in front of 55,000 City fans.

Grealish - 7/10 - Playing with much more caution than usual, Grealish kept possession very well, but seemed reluctant to take on Dani Carvajal, something I believe will change in the second leg.

Speaking of Carvajal, it is some kind of minor miracle that he managed to escape without a yellow card in this game, and it was even more miraculous that no foul was given for his blatant barge on Grealish, sending him flying into the advertisement hoardings. This needs to be taken more seriously by referees, especially after the case of Alex Fletcher, the non-league footballer who was left with a serious brain injury after colliding with an advertisement hoarding recently, and even City's own Kyle Walker, who's ankle injury against Manchester United was made worse by a collision with the advertisement hoardings.

It is something that needs to be seriously considered by the referees, as there are surely ways of making football safer in this regard. And the way Carvajal went down dramatically after Grealish swiped his hand out at him, not satisfied with getting him injured but wanting to see him sent off as well? Well that was simply pathetic.