Man City, Real Madrid Duel in Champions League Semifinal That Has it All

The greatest gift Real Madrid has is its profound belief in its own capacity to win. 

Madrid has found itself under pressure only for one of its brilliant players to do something brilliant just when it needed it.

This season, if anything, the tendency has been ramped up to fresh heights.

Madrid was second-best for three-quarters of both the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain and quarterfinals against Chelsea and still prevailed. 

 And that it lost only 4–3 to a Manchester City that threatened at times to outclass it said much for its remarkable stickability.

The sense has been for a few years that La Liga sides can be physically dominated by Premier League teams. It happened to Madrid in the semifinals two seasons ago, 

Pressing was again the bedrock of City’s performance again here in what wound up tying for the highest-scoring semifinal match in Champions League history.

Man City Edges Past Real Madrid Goal Champions League Semifinal