Wednesday 27 April 2016 11:50, UK
Manchester City's first-ever Champions League semi-final is finely poised after a tense 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium, but it felt like a missed opportunity for Manuel Pellegrini's men, writes Nick Wright…
It was just over an hour before kick-off when the news broke. Cristiano Ronaldo, the man with a staggering record of 93 goals in 125 Champions League appearances, the man who dragged Real Madrid into the semi-finals almost single-handedly, would spend his return to Manchester on the sidelines.
The Portuguese superstar had failed to recover from a thigh injury despite his manager's pre-match assertion that he would be "100 per cent" fit, and as he wandered around the tunnel at the Etihad Stadium and took his seat in the stands before kick-off, the stage was set for City to take advantage.
The home supporters certainly seemed to sense City's opportunity. The Etihad Stadium was a cauldron of noise as the players emerged for kick-off, with roaring fans waving blue and white flags and a huge City display adorning the East Stand. It was a spine-tingling way to begin one of the biggest night's in the club's history, but on the pitch there was rather less to get excited about.
City could not find the end product to match their tenacity in the opening exchanges and their struggles in the final third were summed up by Kevin de Bruyne, who repeatedly popped up in dangerous areas but failed to take advantage as the home side's attacks floundered.
Caution soon took over on both sides, and such was the caginess of the encounter that the first shot of the game didn't arrive until a harmless effort from Nicolas Otamendi in the 27th minute - the latest in any Champions League fixture all season.
Manuel Pellegrini was forced to change things up when David Silva limped off injured shortly before the break and the City boss showed attacking intent by turning to teenage striker Kelechi Iheanacho. It was a considerable show of faith in a player with only two minutes of Champions League football under his belt, but City lost fluency without their orchestrator and the momentum swung Madrid's way.
Indeed, Zinedine Zidane's men might have taken the lead in the dying stages of the first period when the half-fit Karim Benzema spooned Pepe's cut-back over the bar, but it turned out to be the Frenchman's last action of the game. He was replaced by Jese at the break as Madrid lost a second member of their BBC front three.
Still, though, City couldn't take advantage. Aguero had finished the first half with fewer touches than any other outfield player (15), and the Argentine was similarly ineffective after the break. City simply couldn't find a way through the well-organised visitors, and they didn't meaningfully test Keylor Navas until he was forced to push De Bruyne's free-kick over his crossbar in stoppage time. It was one of only two shots on target all game.
"We tried from the beginning to win the game," said Manuel Pellegrini in his post-match press conference. "We pressed high and we controlled the ball very well, but we were not very creative. We didn't create clear chances to score."
The sense of missed opportunity was epitomised by a heavy touch from substitute Raheem Sterling when he was bearing down on goal in the final moments, and ultimately City had Joe Hart to thank for the draw.
The England goalkeeper had little to do until a straight-forward save from Sergio Ramos in the 55th minute, but his outstanding stops from Casemiro and Pepe in the closing stages kept the home side in contention.
Zidane described the tie as "50:50" after the game, but it felt like a generous assessment. Madrid will hope to have Ronaldo back for the second leg and the statistics highlight the scale of the task facing City. The Spanish giants are currently on a run of 478 minutes without conceding at the Bernabeu and they have not let in a single goal in five home Champions League games this season.
City can, at least, take encouragement from the disciplined defensive performance that ensured Madrid left Manchester without an away goal. Hart will take most of the plaudits for his heroics, but they were also boosted by the reunion of their first-choice centre-back pairing. Otamendi led the way for tackles (five) and interceptions (six), while skipper Vincent Kompany made a number of crucial interventions and ranked first for clearances (six).
A repeat performance at the back would give them some hope of navigating next week's daunting trip to the Bernabeu. But they will travel to Spain knowing they might have already missed their best shot at reaching the final.
