Manchester City will face Inter Milan at the 2023 UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul on June 10th, after they blew away Real Madrid 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium to complete a 5-1 semi-final aggregate victory over the reigning European champions.
City’s early dominance, undisputed Premier League goal king Erling Haaland could have had a brace by 30 minutes on the clock and was only denied by two stunning Thibaut Courtois saves. But the Belgian goalkeeper’s unprecedented reflexes could only rescue his teammates so many times, and City finally broke the deadlock as Bernardo Silva dispatched Kevin De Bruyne’s pinpoint through ball.
This Real side can never usually be written off though, and a series of passes in behind City’s backline were only slightly overhit. Ederson’s fingertip save from Toni Kroos’ shot kept the ball from going to the top corner. However, City were still by far the better team before the break, and they doubled their advantage with Silva being the hero again, nodding an unmarked header into the top corner.
As Real’s hopes of a fifth UCL success in ten editions continued fading before their eyes, David Alaba almost halved the deficit in the 51st minute, forcing Ederson into another crucial stop from a free-kick. Courtois soon denied Haaland once more at the other end, when it seemed inevitable that the Norwegian would finally get himself on the scoresheet.
The game was finally over for the holders when Éder Militão bundled Manuel Akanji’s flick on into his own net, before Julián Álvarez slotted beyond Courtois in injury time. It was ultimately an easy night for City, who have now won all of their previous 15 European home matches and can now look forward to a second UCL showpiece in three seasons.
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