Real advance as draw eliminates City
Reuters - Wednesday 21 November 2012, 21:37
Real Madrid reached the Champions League last 16 on
Wednesday and condemned Manchester City to a second successive
group-stage exit when their pulsating Group D encounter at the Etihad
Stadium ended 1-1 with the Spanish side reduced to 10 men.
Real
went ahead after 10 minutes when Karim Benzema was left unmarked and in
space to score with the goal at his mercy, but City, outplayed in the
first half, improved in the second and equalised with a Sergio Aguero
penalty after 74 minutes.
Real
defender Alvaro Arbeloa was sent off for fouling Aguero and conceding
the penalty which the Argentine swept home having missed a golden
opportunity to score in the 65th minute when Iker Casillas made a
point-blank save.
Former
Manchester United favourite Cristiano Ronaldo, playing back in the city
for the first time since he left United three years ago, was booed every
time he touched the ball, but had the last laugh as City went out.
Real's
only disappointment might be qualifying as runners-up in the group
after Borussia Dortmund grabbed top spot with a 4-1 win at Ajax
Amsterdam.
"We wanted to
fight for first place but it was not to be but the important thing is
that we are through," Casillas said in an interview with Spanish TV.
"We missed a few chances to end the match as a contest in the first half but the truth is we were up against a great team.
"It's
also true that we felt a bit discriminated against by some of the
referee's decisions. But we'll focus on the positive which is that we
are through to the next round."
Real
ripped City's three-man defence to shreds until coach Roberto Mancini
changed his formation to four at the back with Aleksandar Kolarov
dropping deeper after half an hour.
With
City needing to win, and Real dominating almost from the kickoff, there
was a subdued atmosphere in the stadium from the start, and it got even
quieter as Real created a series of good early scoring chances.
Ronaldo
should have doubled the lead after 15 minutes when he broke free and
lobbed Hart but instead saw the ball cleared off the line and when it
came back to him he curled it narrowly wide.
Defensive
midfielder Sami Khedira also had three opportunities to score and
Benzema another one, while City, dominating possession somewhat
aimlessly in midfield, never seriously troubled Casillas before the
break.
Real's opener came
after some suicidal defending by the English champions when Maicon
failed to stop Benzema running in on Angel di Maria's cross.
Benzema broke free into space, stayed onside and had the simplest of chances to fire home unmarked from two metres out.
City
improved after the break and were far more aggressive and dynamic but
although the introduction of Carlos Tevez after an hour gave them
renewed hope, Real never really relinquished the upper hand and held on
for a deserved point.
Mancini's
men were left ruing another early exit after their Champions League
debut appearance last year ended at the same stage.
"We've
had a few opportunities in this group where we could have done a lot
better," City keeper Hart told Sky Sports television.
"All
the games have cost us - we've lost our two away games and not won at
home. We led in Amsterdam and we led in Madrid so it's been a bad
campaign for us."