Manchester City will aim to reach a fourth successive semifinal when they take on regular UEFA Champions League rivals Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti watched their sides play out a 3-3 thriller in last week’s quarterfinal first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, although Madrid will have to improve significantly upon their performance in Manchester last season.
City ran out 4-0 winners in the second leg to progress 5-1 on aggregate, producing the defining performance of their treble-winning season.
Top of the Premier League with an FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea on the horizon this weekend, Guardiola’s men remain in contention to defend all of those major titles.
The Sporting News is following Manchester City vs. Real Madrid live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
MORE: Where to watch Man City vs Real Madrid: Live stream, TV channel, lineups, prediction
Man City vs Real Madrid live score
| 1st Half | Goalscorers | |
| Man City | 0 (3) | |
| Real Madrid | 1 (4) | Rodrygo 12′ |
Lineups:
Man City (4-1-4-1 right to left): 31. Ederson (GK) — 2. Kyle Walker, 25. Manuel Akanji, 3. Ruben Dias, 24. Josko Gvardiol — 16. Rodri — 20. Bernardo Silva, 17. Kevin De Bruyne, 47. Phil Foden, 10. Jack Grealish — 9. Erling Haaland.
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1 right to left): 13. Andriy Lunin (GK) — 2. Dani Carvajal, 22. Antonio Rudiger, 6. Nacho, 23. Ferland Mendy — 12. Eduardo Camavinga, 8. Toni Kroos — 15. Federico Valverde, 5. Jude Bellingham, 11. Rodrygo — 7. Vinicius Junior.
MORE: Real Madrid vs Man City final score, result, stats as Champions League classic thrills Santiago Bernabeu
Man City vs Real Madrid live updates, highlights, and commentary
Halftime: Madrid have an absolute shocker with a free-kick on the left and De Bruyne and Foden fashion a break. Bellingham is back to get a foot in and that’ll be that for the first half. More gripping, absorbing stuff from these two but Rodrygo’s 12th-minute goal – on a ground where Los Blancos were humiliated last season – has them 45 minutes away from the semis.
45th minute+1: Foden,whose right-wing berth has meant him existing on the margins, clatters a speculative long-ranger over.
45th minute: Patient, methodical stuff from City. It ends with an excellent Carvajal header behind to deny Haaland and Silva. Ooof, Lunin looks as comfortable under these in-swinging De Bruyne corners as he would in a dentist’s chair. He tips over. The corner for the right is cleared and there’ll be two minutes of stoppage time. Given how Madrid have tried to kill the clock since scoring, they’ll be pretty happy with that.
40th minute: Vinicius takes his turn flying in on Grealish. The referee holds out his arms, which is an odd signal. Does he want a hug? Anyway, Haaland forces Lunin into a hurried clearance. Suddenly the visitors look like they could quite do with halftime.
39th minute: It’s a nice angle for De Bruyne but the Madrid centre-backs are first again and there’s an offside in there somewhere.
38th minute: Grealish skins Carvajal, who obliges with one of the yellowest of yellow card challenges. Full marks for the protests of innocence.
36th minute: Haaland drives through the Madrid midfield. Are you watching, Roy Keane? He feeds Grealish, whose effort is deflected behind by a hurtling Rudiger. Again the corner comes to nought and De Bruyne hits a cross straight to Lunin.
34th minute: Akanji pops up down the right flank and City hustle another corner. They’ve not really made any of them count. De Bruyne slaps in a low one that causes brief confusion but nothing more.
33rd minute: Madrid try another break but Bellingham is subsumed by a sea of sky blue. City rumble forward and De Bruyne clatters over left-footed from 25 yards.
32nd minute: Grealish changes gears to glide past Camavinga. His side-footed effort is deflected wide.
29th minute: Bellingham gets in to brilliantly dispossess Akanji and Madrid are away. They have men over. Valverde down the right, Gvardiol makes a vital headed block.
28th minute: Madrid and the Lazarus-like Carvajal see off the initial corner. Rodri lofts one to the back post, Haaland nods into the goalmouth but Lunin gets there first.
27th minute: Oh, there’s pace on that, though. A De Bruyne rasper that Lunin turns around the post. Carvajal is down in some disarray which means City aren’t allowed to take a quick corner.
26th minute: Grealish with a soft shoe shuffle into the Madrid box. De Bruyne hoists a leg out to divert the ball goalwards but there’s not much pace on it.
25th minute: Case in point as Vinicius gets goal side. For reasons best known to the veteran full-back, Dani Carvajal is the man up there with him and has his shot blocked. Valverde sends the loose ball high and wide. We’ll allow it after that beauty he scored last week, but that was horrid.
24th minute: Madrid look long towards Vinicius and Rodrygo. Their old mate Walker is there to mop up. However, City are rushing things a touch in the Madrid half and it’s leaving them exposed on the break again.
19th minute: My word how hasn’t that gone in. De Bruyne is down the right channel again. Lunin doesn’t fully deal with his low cross. Haaland gets up among a gaggle of bodies to head against the crossbar. The reboud plops down to Silva, but he can’t turn it in.
17th minute: Dias spreads play to Grealish, who does well not only to keep it in but to set up Silva for a cross. Haaland rises at the back post but can’t keep his effort down.
15th minute: City have responded pretty well to going behind. De Bruyne forces Lunin to tip a corner over. He takes the next out short to Grealish and the Madrid goalkeeper punches clear, albeit while not looking entirely comfortable.
12th minute: GOOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Rodrygo!!!!
Madrid lead as Rodrygo beats Ederson at the second attempt. But that all came from a delicious touch from Jude Bellingham, pulling the ball out of the sky and killing it stone dead. That allowed Vinicius to cross. Ederson denied his countryman brilliantly but could do nothing to thwart him on the rebound. Game on!
It only took Rodrygo 12 minutes to get things at the Etihad 💥
The first touch from Jude though 👀 pic.twitter.com/Ly8pgWMvme
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 17, 2024
11th minute: Madrid looking more calmly assured in possession than they did at pretty much any time in the first leg. A patient passing move ends with Camavinga taking aim from outside the box and Ederson collecting his dipping shot.
8th minute: Lovely first-time pass from Akanji to send De Bruyne scampering down the right channel. His low cross is too close to Lunin. You’d expect better from the Belgian maestro from there.
5th minute: Walker has wandered down a cul-de-sac a couple of times in quick succession, forced to win throws off Rodrygo. It’s something to watch with the City defence lacking Stones’ expertise in the build-up. Grealish looks for Gvardiol down the Madrid right but the attack breaks down.
4th minute: It’s actually quite cagey right now, which makes a change for these two. Akanji stepping into midfield when City are in possession and he’s into his work pretty smoothly.
2nd minute: An early punt forward for Haaland and he barges into Nacho. Maybe he’s keen on a new jousting partner after getting very little change out of Rudiger. Grealish hurries Lunin into a sloppy clearance.
1st minute: City get us undereway. Madrid won the toss and turned the teams around. To be fair, you don’t usually need to avoid the 192 to a good few hours.
2 mins before kickoff: The teams are out. The City fan collective the 1894 Group has put together a very impressive Tifo with Phil Foden aboard “The Wembley Express” going past Manchester landmarks such as the Apollo Theatre and the McVite’s biscuit factory. The bus number is 192, the most regular service from Foden’s native Stockport into Manchester city centre. Impressive attention to detail.
The 192! The South Stand could only be more Manc if everyone was wearing parkas. pic.twitter.com/gqCRFRIfOh
— Dom Farrell (@DomFarrell1986) April 17, 2024
10 mins before kickoff: After last season’s ordeal at the Etihad, Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde described City’s home ground as “the most difficult” stadium he has played in. The atmosphere was definitely ramped up to 11 that night. The Champions League being the final frontier to conquer, the thirst for revenge over the 2022 semifinal and a fabulous City performance made for a heady cocktail. With the mountain scaled and the Champions League trophy on display tonight, we’re not yet at the same level of fever pitch. But the stands are packed and we’re ready to roll. I’ll get back to you on the atmosphere if there’s an early City goal!
30 mins before kickoff: Both teams are out warming up – Madrid fashionably late – to the stylings of DJ Sonny Fodera. He’s just dropped Seven Nation Army. Do the basics and do them well on nights like tonight, right?
— Dom Farrell (@DomFarrell1986) April 17, 2024
50 mins before kickoff: For all that he remains a man of intricate tactical detail, Pep Guardiola’s City have developed as a European force over recent years through being repeatedly stress-tested in the big moments. The holders are unquestionably “mentality monsters” as a certain rival might say. At this stage of the season, Guardiola tends to go all in on the players he can trust. Any tweaks and flights of fancy must be put away; it’s time for the dependables. Manuel Akanji is definitely one of those. He has proved to be an absolute steal since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in a cut-price deal last August, impressing across a variety of positions in the de
However, John Stones roving into midfield from defence was Guardiola’s trump card against Madrid last year and the England international was also superb as City turned the game around after halftime at the Bernabeu last week. In his absence, Akanji might do the Stones role, a task where he is functional rather than exceptional. The makeup of the defence and the midfield zones they are most likely to occupy in possession also makes it feel like Phil Foden will be stationed on the right wing as opposed to at the heart of the action.
1 hr 10 mins before kickoff: And this is the City team. Walker does make it, with Akanji reverting to centre-back alongside Ruben Dias. That means John Stones has to be content with a place on the bench. The City front six is full-strength.
Your City side to face Real Madrid 🩵
XI | Ederson, Walker (C), Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Carson, Stones, Ake, Kovacic, Doku, Alvarez, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis#ManCity | #UCL pic.twitter.com/2NtHEk7XTt
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 17, 2024
1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: The City team will be with us shortly. Whether or not Walker is fit to start for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty with England feels key. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo each had fun pulling out to the left flank where Walker would have been stationed in Madrid last week. Manuel Akanji dealt with their threat manfully but Walker’s recovery pace can be something of an x-factor in this fixture. The 2022 semifinal underlines his importance: none of the six goals City shipped over the course of that tie occurred while Walker (also battling injury on that occasion) was on the field. You expect Pep Guardiola will do all he can to get him out there.
2 hours before kickoff: Carlo Ancelotti, as is his wont, has thrown his Madrid lineup out early. Club captain Nacho gets the nod at centre-back alongside Antonio Rudiger, with Aurelien Tchouameni suspended and Eder Militao only fit enough for a place on the bench. That’s the only change from the XI that started the first leg. Whether or not the shape is the same might depend on whether or not Kyle Walker makes it for City.
📋✅ Our starting 𝗫𝗜!
🆚 @ManCity#UCL pic.twitter.com/L1loYbnjcV— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 17, 2024
2 hrs 30 mins before kickoff: So, eight days ago Madrid and City played out an enthralling 3-3 draw, where the holders went 1-0 up, 2-1 down and 3-2 ahead before Federico Valverde capped a night of incredible goals with the best of the bunch. That followed City walloping Madrid 4-0 on this ground last season and their 2022 semifinal that Madrid won 6-5 on aggregate after a 4-3 defeat at the Etihad Stadium. The 2016 semifinal between these two, which finished 1-0 to Madrid after 180 minutes thanks to a Fernando own goal, was a certifiable cure for insomnia. That seems a very long time ago.
3 hours before kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Manchester City vs. Real Madrid. Probably teeing up a 0-0 dirge here, but it’s hard to imagine this not being brilliant, isn’t it?
We witnessed an iconic #UCL showdown in Madrid last week! 🔙✨
Catch the match recap below 👇 pic.twitter.com/hO5ZJgbDtr
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 17, 2024
Man City vs Real Madrid kick off time
This Champions League clash takes place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, UK and kicks off on Wednesday, April 17 at 8:00 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Wed, Apr. 17 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Wed, Apr. 17 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| UK | Wed, Apr. 17 | 8:00 p.m. BST |
| India | Thu, Apr. 18 | 12:30 a.m. IST |
| Australia | Thu, Apr. 18 | 5:00 a.m. AEST |
Man City vs Real Madrid lineups, team news
Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake have returned to training and were unused substitutes during the 5-1 weekend win over Luton Town.
England international John Stones also took part in City’s open session on the eve of the game, where all first-team players were present and correct. It was Walker who got the nod in the starting backline.
Man City (4-1-4-1 right to left): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol — Rodri — Silva, De Bruyne, Foden, Grealish — Haaland.
Man City subs (12): Ortega (GK), Carson (GK), Stones, Ake, Kovacic, Doku, Alvarez, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti’s most crucial call came in defence, with Aurelien Tchouameni suspended.
The France star has filled in at centre-back in recent weeks and club captain Nacho got the call to replace him ahead of the fit-again Eder Militao.
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1 right to left): Lunin (GK) — Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy — Camavinga, Kroos — Valverde, Bellingham, Rodrygo — Vinicius Jr.
Real Madrid subs (12): Kepa (GK), Fran (GK), Militao, Modric, Joselu, Lucas, Ceballos, Fran Garcia, Brahim, Guler,
Man City vs Real Madrid live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this Champions League match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
USA: Champions League matches are available to stream on Paramount+ (English). New users can currently get a FREE seven-day trial.
ViX and UniMas are the place to go for Spanish subscribers with Fubo also offering streaming access and a FREE trial to new subscribers.
Canada: Every Champions League game streams live on DAZN.
UK: This match will be broadcast on TNT Sports 2 and streamed on discovery+.
India: JioTV and Sony LIV are the live streaming options for this game.
Australia: The second leg of Real Madrid vs Man City will air exclusively on Stan Sport.
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