MADRID: Three goals in the first 14 minutes. Back-and-forth attacking. Stunning second-half strikes.
It was an instant classic between the newest Champions League rivals, with Real Madrid and Manchester City drawing 3-3 in a frantic first leg of the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
“I imagine the fans enjoyed a game like this, with six goals,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Both teams wanted to attack, doing it in different ways, a bit out of control.”
Federico Valverde scored a 79th-minute equalizer for Madrid after City had rallied with Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol scoring goals five minutes apart midway through the second half at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Bernardo Silva had put City ahead two minutes into the match, but Madrid rallied with an own-goal by City defender Rúben Dias in the 12th and a score by forward Rodrygo in the 14th.
“We wanted to take at least a small advantage, but in the end we are satisfied because we competed well and gave our best,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “If we do the same in the return match, we can come away victorious.”
The second leg will be next Wednesday in Manchester.
It is the third consecutive encounter between the clubs in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Madrid eliminated City in the semifinals in 2022, while City got the best of Madrid at the same stage last year. Both teams went on to win the title after eliminating their rivals.
The match at the Bernabeu went on as scheduled despite of a possible terror threat by the Daesh, with no security incidents being immediately reported.
In the other first-leg quarterfinal Tuesday, Arsenal and Bayern Munich drew 2-2 in London.
City struck early when Silva sneaked in a low free-kick shot that went past the wall and caught Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin off guard by the near post.
Madrid equalized after a shot from outside the area by Eduardo Camavinga deflected off Dias to wrong-foot City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
Rodrygo put Madrid ahead after breaking through the City defense to get to a pass by Brazil teammate Vinícius Júnior in front of the area. Rodrygo’s shot deflected off a defender’s leg and slowly rolled past Ortega and into the net.
Foden evened the match again with a superb shot into the top corner in the 66th to make it 2-2, then five minutes later Gvardiol put the visitors ahead again with a powerful strike into the far corner.
Valverde’s equalizer came with a neat low volley from inside the area.
“We played exceptionally well in the second half until the final 10 or 12 minutes, but in the end we know that for Madrid the match is never over,” Guardiola said.
The result extended Madrid’s 28-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, as well as City’s 26-match unbeaten run across all tournaments. Defending champion City is unbeaten in 22 straight games in the Champions League.
Guardiola had to cope with the last-minute absence of playmaker Kevin de Bruyne, the Belgian international who was ill and had to be dropped from the starting lineup. De Bruyne vomited after the team arrived at the Bernabeu, though he warmed up with the substitutes before the match and started on the bench.
Guardiola, who complained about the field conditions at the Bernabeu, was also without captain and first-choice right back Kyle Walker because of an injury, though Gvardiol, who had been listed as doubtful, started in the left-back position and ended up scoring a decisive goal.
Madrid had eight full days to prepare for the match as there were no Spanish league matches this weekend. City had only two full days to get ready after playing in the Premier League on Saturday.
Ancelotti made his record-extending 200th appearance as a coach in the Champions League. He also is the coach with the most titles (four) and victories (114). It was his 59th game as Madrid coach in the European competition.
Ancelotti made a change in attack, with Vinícius and Rodrygo switching sides to try to trouble the City defense and it worked in the second Madrid goal.
Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger did well containing Erling Haaland again, as he had done in the 1-1 draw in the first leg between the clubs last season. City went on to win 4-0 in the return game at home.
Real Madrid and Man City draw 3-3 in frantic 1st leg of Champions League quarterfinals at Bernabeu
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Real Madrid and Man City draw 3-3 in frantic 1st leg of Champions League quarterfinals at Bernabeu
- It is the third consecutive encounter between the clubs in the knockout stages of the Champions League
Poland end Euro 2025 on high note with historic Padilla-Bidas goal, win over Denmark
LUCERNE, Switzerland: Poland’s Natalia Padilla-Bidas scored her country’s first goal at a major women’s tournament in a 3-2 victory over Denmark on Saturday that sends Poland home from their European championship debut on a high note.
Both teams had already been eliminated from quarter-final contention so Saturday’s match was about final group placings with Poland finishing third and Denmark fourth.
Bayern Munich’s Padilla-Bidas brought the Polish fans to their feet at Allmend Stadion with her historic strike in the 12th minute when a loose ball fell at her feet and she fired home.
Ewa Pajor, Poland’s all-time leading goalscorer, doubled their lead eight minutes later when she intercepted the ball in the midfield, laid it out to Padilla-Bidas then charged to the back post to head it in.
Janni Thomsen pulled one back in the 59th minute but Poland restored their two-goal lead when substitute Martyna Wiankowska struck from the edge of the box, firing the ball in off the bar.
Denmark, runners-up at Euro 2017, replied in the 83rd minute when Signe Bruun headed in Katrine Veje’s pinpoint cross.
PSG-Chelsea final ‘is not going to be simple formality’
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has urged his team to round off the best season in the club’s history by winning the Club World Cup, but warned not to expect Sunday’s final against Chelsea to be a “simple formality.”
“This is absolutely not going to be a simple formality,” the Spanish coach insisted, refusing to accept that PSG are necessarily overwhelming favorites to lift the trophy at MetLife Stadium despite their fearsome form.
“I have analyzed Chelsea. They have a great squad. Enzo Maresca is doing a great job and I really like what he is doing,” Enrique said. “They are a very complete team.”
PSG can complete a remarkable clean sweep of trophies with victory, having won a French league and cup double before claiming the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history at the end of May.
“We want to finish this historic season in the best possible way,” said the former Barcelona coach.
“Now we must open the next chapter, win more major trophies. We want to make more history by winning on Sunday.”
PSG were spellbinding at times in their 4-0 victory against Real Madrid in the semifinals and also put four goals past Atletico Madrid and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami during the
competition.
“But we have to win this game to round things off. However, in a final, there is always a winner and a loser, and that doesn’t mean the loser has necessarily done anything wrong,” Enrique added.
“We will lose again at some point, because that is what happens in top-level football, but I think the path is clear for everyone.”
HIGHLIGHT
PSG can complete a remarkable clean sweep of trophies with victory, having won a French league and cup double before claiming the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history at the end of May.
This is the first edition of the 32-team Club World Cup, and whoever wins on Sunday will be world champions for four years, with the next tournament scheduled to take place in 2029.
“We are aware of the importance of this match, that it is a golden opportunity to be in a World Cup final,” said captain Marquinhos.
“This only happens every four years, and we don’t know where we will be in four years.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez said the scorching heat at the event in the US left him feeling dizzy and described the high temperatures as “dangerous” to play in.
Tuesday’s semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense which took place at 3 p.m. local time in New Jersey saw temperatures soar past 35 degrees Celsius with over 54 percent humidity, prompting a National Weather Service warning.
Soaring temperatures in several cities hosting the contest have been a focal point in the tournament, which is seen as a dry run for next year’s men’s World Cup.
“Honestly, the heat is incredible. The other day, I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy,” Fernandez told reporters on Friday.
“Playing in this temperature is very dangerous, it’s very dangerous. Moreover, for the spectacle, for the people who come to enjoy the stadium, for the people who watch it at home.
“The game, the speed of the game is not the same, everything becomes very slow.
“Let’s hope that next year they change the schedule, at least so that it remains a beautiful and attractive football spectacle, right?” the 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina added.
Chelsea’s manager has also previously complained about the heat, saying it was “impossible” to organize regular training sessions in the afternoons in Philadelphia.
“Some places have been really hot, the last round was hot and I was stuck watching it and I was thinking: ‘wow, this is so tough.’ I felt bad for them but they managed it really well,” Chelsea center back Levi
Colwill said.
Sweden storm to group victory with 4-1 win over Germany
ZURICH: Sweden made the most of the sending-off of Germany defender Carlotta Wamser to sweep to a 4-1 win and secure top spot in their Group C clash on Saturday, with the Germans also going through to the quarter-finals as runners-up
The Swedes finished top of the group with a perfect nine points from their three games and will take on the runners-up in Group D — which features France, England, Netherlands and Wales — with the Germans taking on the winners of that group.
Germany defender Wamser set up Jule Brand for her side’s opener in the seventh minute, but the Swedes hit back through Stina Blackstenius five minutes later and they took the lead through a fortuitous goal from fullback Smilla Holmberg in the 25th minute.
Wamser’s red card for a deliberate handball in the box in the 32nd minute allowed Fridolina Rolfo to confidently slot home the resulting penalty, and substitute Lina Hurtig rubbed salt in Germany’s wounds with an 80th-minute goal to seal an emphatic win.
AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez joins Saudi side Al-Hilal
- The 27-year-old French defender joins Al-Hilal on a three-year deal
Paris: Saudi club Al-Hilal on Thursday signed AC Milan’s French full-back Theo Hernandez on a three-year contract.
The 27-year-old leaves the Serie A side in a deal worth 25 million euros ($29.2 million), Italian media report.
Hernandez has played 38 times for France with two goals, and figured in the last World Cup, including the defeat by Argentina on penalties in the 2022 final in Qatar.
Moving to the Saudi Pro League a year before the next World Cup could be considered a risk for his chances of getting called up again by coach Didier Deschamps.
But he can take encouragement that Deschamps selected N’Golo Kante for Euro 2024 whilst he was playing for another Saudi club, Al-Ittihad.
Theo is the younger brother of Paris Saint-Germain and France defender Lucas Hernandez.
Swiss move through to Euro 2025 quarterfinals with late Xhemaili goal
- Switzerland, who needed only a draw to advance based on goal difference, finished second in Group A behind Norway to go through to the knockout round for the first time
- The desolate Finland players collapsed to the pitch in tears at the final whistle, while the Swiss lingered after the game’s end to pose for pictures
GENEVA: Switzerland’s Riola Xhemaili scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a dramatic 1-1 draw with Finland on Thursday that sent the joyous hosts through to the quarterfinals at Euro 2025, and heartbroken Finland home.
Switzerland, who needed only a draw to advance based on goal difference, finished second in Group A behind Norway to go through to the knockout round for the first time, and will face the winners of Group B, which would be world champions Spain as things stand now.
“I think we set ourselves a goal on the pitch, to write history, to go into the knockout stages, which we’ve never done before,” Swiss captain Lia Walti said.
Finland looked to be heading for the knockout round after Natalia Kuikka scored a penalty in the 79th minute, awarded after Viola Calligaris’s foul on Emma Koivisto. Center-back Kuikka calmly slotted home a low shot as Swiss goalkeeper Livia Peng dived the wrong way.
But, roared on by the home crowd, the Swiss kept up the attack in the breathless dying moments and Xhemaili, a second-half substitute, scored in the 92nd minute when Geraldine Reuteler mis-hit her shot on goal and Xhemaili was there to tap it in, blowing the roof off at Stade de Geneve.
“I really have to say that I didn’t think that we’re going home because I really believed in this team, until the last second, and I knew we were going to score,” Xhemaili said.
“I knew that Geraldine Reuteler, she will hit the target, of course, because she’s one of our best players, so I was like, just stay on the right spot in the right moment and wait until the ball is coming and it did.”
The desolate Finland players collapsed to the pitch in tears at the final whistle, while the Swiss lingered after the game’s end to pose for pictures and their famed manager Pia Sundhage wrapped her assistants in huge hugs.
But for most of the nervy night, the game was far from a classic, with desperation showing in both sides with the stakes sky high.
Switzerland started brightly and put Finnish goalkeeper Anna Koivunen to work early with a couple of chances. But momentum shifted midway through the half to quiet the nervous crowd and Peng made a huge save on the goal-line seconds before the break to preserve the draw.
Intensity picked up over the second half and Sundhage threw virtually every attacker on her bench into the game in search of the equalizer, with the Swiss ending the night with 15 shots to Finland’s six.
“I am going to dance tonight,” a smiling Sundhage told SRF.
Kuikka said Switzerland were the better team on the night.
“They came to the game like they wanted to win and it kind of showed,” she said.
