Champions League: Manchester City Beats Real Madrid To Final

By Staff, Agencies

Manchester City is three games away from making history. And after the stunning rout of Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola’s march toward a treble of trophies feels unstoppable.

“We are there. We can think about it, can visualize it,” the City manager said after his team’s 4-0 win at Etihad Stadium.

After drawing the first leg 1-1, Madrid’s undisputed kings of Europe were humbled and, except for the efforts of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, the score line could have been so much worse for the 14-time champions.

City feels like an irresistible force as it closes in on the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup titles. It was certainly too hot for Madrid to handle as Bernardo Silva scored twice in the first half, Eder Militao scored an own goal after the break and substitute Julian Alvarez struck in time added on to seal a 5-1 aggregate win.

Madrid has fought its way back from the brink on numerous occasions over the past two seasons, but this was too great a challenge.

After overrunning the defending European champions, City will be favored to do the same to Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul on June 10.

A win against Chelsea on Sunday would secure a third straight league title and Manchester United stands in its way in the FA Cup final. United is the only English team to win the three main trophies in one season — doing so in 1999.

City has already overtaken its Manchester rival as the dominant force in English soccer and can now emulate its greatest achievement.

Guardiola won the Champions League twice with Barcelona, but has failed to add to that total with Bayern Munich and City.

This is only his second final since last winning the competition in 2011, having lost to Chelsea in 2021.