Real Madrid, Man City draw 3-3 in frantic first leg

MADRID (AP):

THREE GOALS in the first 14 minutes. Back-and-forth attacking. Stunning second-half strikes.

It was an instant classic between the newest Champions League rivals, with Real Madrid and Manchester City drawing 3-3 in a frantic first leg of the quarterfinals yesterday.

“I imagine the fans enjoyed a game like this, with six goals,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Both teams wanted to attack, doing it in different ways, a bit out of control.”

Federico Valverde scored a 79th-minute equaliser for Madrid after City had rallied with Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol scoring goals five minutes apart midway through the second half at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Bernardo Silva had put City ahead two minutes into the match, but Madrid rallied with an own goal by City defender Rúben Dias in the 12th and a second from forward Rodrygo in the 14th.

“We wanted to take at least a small advantage, but in the end we are satisfied because we competed well and gave our best,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “If we do the same in the return match, we can come away victorious.”

The second leg will be next Wednesday in Manchester.

It is the third consecutive encounter between the clubs in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Madrid eliminated City in the semifinals in 2022, while City got the better of Madrid at the same stage last year. Both teams went on to win the title after eliminating their rivals.

The match at the Bernabeu went on as scheduled despite a possible terror threat by the Islamic State, with no security incidents being immediately reported.

In the other first-leg quarterfinal on Tuesday, Arsenal and Bayern Munich drew 2-2 in London.

City struck early when Silva sneaked in a low free kick shot that went past the wall and caught Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin off guard at the near post.

Madrid equalised after a shot from outside the area by Eduardo Camavinga deflected off Dias to wrong-foot City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.

Rodrygo put Madrid ahead after breaking through the City defence to get to a pass by Brazil teammate Vinícius Júnior in front of the area. Rodrygo’s shot deflected off a defender’s leg and slowly rolled past Ortega and into the net.

Foden evened the match again with a superb shot into the top corner in the 66th to make it 2-2, then five minutes later Gvardiol put the visitors ahead again with a powerful strike into the far corner.

Valverde’s equaliser came with a neat low volley from inside the area.

“We played exceptionally well in the second half until the final 10 or 12 minutes, but in the end we know that for Madrid the match is never over,” Guardiola said.

The result extended Madrid’s 28-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, as well as City’s 26-match unbeaten run across all tournaments. Defending champions City are unbeaten in 22 straight games in the Champions League.