Bernabeu Draw Takes City Nearer Champions League Goal
The sports shops in Manchester will often have City supporters buying shirts and other items of kit associated with the club, but sales may soar if the club finally wins the Champions League.
While the club is on course to win the Premier League again and join the exclusive group of clubs to win a Championship hat-trick, the Champions League has proved an elusive trophy for the club’s billionaire owners. From losing the 2021 final to Chelsea to last season’s dramatic semi-final loss to Real Madrid, the tales of what might have been have piled up.
However, after being drawn against the Spanish giants again, this year sees the team potentially just 90 minutes from the final after a 1-1 first leg draw in the Bernabeu.
A brilliant first half goal by Vinicius Junior gave the home side the lead, but in the second City equalised through Kevin de Bruyne, although VAR failed to pick up on the ball apparently going out of play moments before.
Nonetheless, City will hope that is the break they need, although there is still a big job to do against the holders in Manchester. The winner will face one of the Milan clubs in the final, with Inter gaining a 2-0 first leg lead thanks to goals by former City striker Edin Dzeko and former Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
It will soon be the current players of City and United who will do battle for this season’s other major trophy, the FA Cup. The Manchester Derby final on May 3rd could offer City a chance to do the double and, should they finally add the biggest trophy of all, mean emulating United’s feat of winning the ‘treble’ of League, FA Cup and European Cup achieved in 1999.
United will hope to keep that achievement a unique one for an English club, which may require emulating their FA Cup victory over Liverpool in 1977 in similar circumstances.