MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City dismantled Real Madrid 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium to book their place in the Champions League final and remain on course for the treble. The reigning European champions were blown away thanks to two first half goals from Bernardo Silva, an Eder Militao own goal after half-time and a late fourth from substitute Julian Alvarez.
City will play Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul next month, which could end up being the last leg of the treble if they can also lift the Premier League title and the FA Cup. Pep Guardiola’s team are now just three wins away from matching a feat only achieved once before in English football, by Manchester United in 1999.
Rapid reaction
1. Man City march towards the treble
As much as Chelsea, Brighton, Brentford, Manchester United and Inter Milan will have a say in how many trophies City win this season, this was their toughest test of the treble run-in and Real Madrid, “Kings of the Champions League,” were swatted away by a team playing with so much swagger that they look destined to win it all.
There was the occasional scare when Toni Kroos hit the crossbar and Ederson was needed to make a fingertip save from David Alaba‘s free-kick but for most of the night City dominated the 14-times winners of this competition. At half-time, Guardiola’s team were 2-0 up after enjoying nearly 80 percent possession and in the first 20 minutes, Real Madrid couldn’t even muster a touch of the ball in the attacking third of the pitch. In the same spell, City had 107.
With Inter Milan waiting in Istanbul on June 10, this was billed as the final before the final and City spent most of the night in cruise control. They are three wins away from the treble and, in this form, they will never get a better chance of writing themselves into the history books.
