Premier League giants Manchester City defeated 14-time champions Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate on Wednesday to reach their second Champions League final. While the first-leg of the semifinal between the two teams had ended in a 1-1 draw, the second leg saw City thump Madrid 4-0 at home to proceed to the summit clash and end their wait for a maiden UEFA Champions League triumph.
Bernardo Silva was undoubtedly the hero of the match for City as his first-half brace meant City were in control from the initial minutes and continued their dominance as the match progressed. Had it not been for Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' saves, it would have an even more humiliating defeat for the record champions of the elite continental club competition in Europe.
Post Silva's goals in the first half, the second half saw a goal each from Manuel Akanji who found the back of the net through a header and Julian Alvarez as City stormed their way into the finals to set up a final against Inter Milan on June 10 in Istanbul. The result means that the Pep Guardiola's men could well achieve a historic treble this season by winning the Premier League, Champions League as well as the FA Cup. Manchester United have gone on to do the same but that was way back in the 1998-99 season.
"We played a rival who were better than us in this match – they pretty well overwhelmed us," Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal told UEFA’s official website.
Meanwhile, Silva, who set up this win for City, said that they knew that beating Madrid would be tough and were happy with the result.
"It is a beautiful night for us. We know it would be tough but to beat this Real Madrid team 4-0 at home was wonderful. Hopefully we will win it [the final]," he said.
Earlier, Inter Milan had won the Milan derby to enter first Champions League final since 2013.