MY ACCOUNT
Jonathan Woodgate described Real Madrid’s remarkable Champions League win against Manchester City as “probably the best [game] I have ever seen”.
Madrid lost 4-3 at the Etihad Stadium in their semi-final first leg – an encounter that was widely lauded for its incredible drama.
But further twists and turns were still to come back in Spain, where City led 1-0 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate with less than a minute of normal time to play.
Rodrygo Goes scored twice in the space of 91 seconds to take the tie to extra time, before Karim Benzema’s penalty sent Madrid through with a 3-1 home win.
Former Blancos defender Woodgate was amazed by the match but considered it typical of a Madrid team who have become the first to lose games in the last 16, quarter-finals and semis and still make the Champions League final in its existing format.
“What a game of football. It’s probably the best I have ever seen,” Woodgate told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“You could not write it. Phenomenal football by Real Madrid, and City had no comeback.
“This stadium, these players, they never know when they are beaten. They just keep going right until the end. At 80 minutes, we thought ‘game over’ – not this crowd, not this team.”
City play Newcastle United, another of Woodgate’s former teams, next on Sunday, needing to recover quickly to preserve a one-point lead over Liverpool in the Premier League and secure silverware for this season.
But ex-England man Woodgate has his doubts, adding: “It is such a distressing loss. What ramifications does that have on the league? They could blow up after this.”
