Manchester City self-destruction in Madrid as Real produce ANOTHER Miracle Champions League comeback

It was there. It was within their grasp. So close, they could almost feel it. So close, they could picture the stadium, decked in the sky blue and red on May 28. Liverpool v…

Hold on. That’s where the dream died. It will not be Manchester City in Paris, creating a third all-English final in four years. It is Real Madrid who will face down Liverpool, perhaps on the Brink of a Quadruple if this sucks as much life from the title race as it could.

This was simply a devastating defeat for Manchester City. Not just its consequence but its continent. For Real Madrid this was not a comeback but a resurrection. It was on the scale of Manchester United in Nou Camp, 1999. Madrid were 5-3 down on aggregate going into the final minute of normal time; and 6-5 up five minutes into the extra time that resulted from their incredible feat of resistance. It was the first time they had led across the two entire ties: the 185th minute of the match.

Real Madrid progressed through to the final of the Champions League in dramatic fashion on Wednesday evening

Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium saw them emerge victorious 6-5 on aggregate

As a result, Manchester City have crashed out of the competition and will not face Liverpool in the final later this month

Manchester City, in Europe. What is to become of them? Nothing is ever simple. Nothing straightforward. How did they lose this, having played so well on the night? A minute before Real Madrid scored, Jack Grealish, on as a substitute had two chances to put the outcome beyond doubt. The first was cleared off the line, the second sent wide by the sea touch from Thibaut Courtois in goal. And then they were out, gone. They had silenced the Bernabeu, the game was as good as won. And then it wasn’t. As a former player once asked: why always them?

Yet credit Real Madrid, too. Credit them for never knowing when they are beaten. This was a heroic display of Fortitude, wrested from City by two goals from substitute Rodrygo. Coming on for Toni Kroos with the game goalless they were inspired. One goal in the final minute for what looked to be a footnote consolation, then a minute later to turn the tie on its head. City were stunned. They had been the better side for almost all of this Encounter. How could this be?

Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring on Wednesday night by finding the back of the net in the 73rd minute

Manchester City were dominating the game and it looked as though they had secured their place in the final

Oh, be it. Karim Benzema, kept quiet for most of the night, hooked a volleyed cross from the left side of the penalty area for Rodrygo’s first – Ederson beaten to the ball by his outstretched foot. For the second Marco Asensio flicked on Dani Carvajal’s cross and the Brazilian forward rose above a now rattled defense and sent his header past Ederson. Astonishing.

Worse was to come. Extra time had Barely started when Ruben Dias went in clumsily on Benzema, and Italian referee Daniele Orsato pointed to the penalty spot. By now, the City were in shock and Disarray; Madrid the swaggering Gods of the Champions League. And no Panenka for Benzema this time. Nothing clever or fancy. He struck it low to Ederson’s left, giving him no chance. There was Barely a peep out of the City after that. They were done. There is something about this competition and Madrid. Liverpool the same. Serial Finalists, the pair of them. It still holds more painful Memories than fondness for the City.

So was it another classic, like the first leg? Not entirely. The period in which Madrid returned to life aside, this was largely a tight game, with few chances. It looked as if it had decided by City’s goal 17 minutes from time, which gave Manchester City a two-goal aggregate lead. It coincided with a spell in which the hosts began to experience the first signs of self-doubt. The streets around the Bernabeu were raucous and overwhelmed before the game, the noise within, deafening. A Giant banner of Talisman Benzema was Unveiled.

Manchester City held the lead until the 90th minute of the game when Rodrygo (on the ball) scored a stunning equalizer

Rodrygo then put the LaLiga Giants ahead and level on aggregate by scoring again just one minute later – making the score 2-1

Yet as the play wore on, City’s defensive strength came increasingly to the fore. Here was the team we saw in this city last month, against Atletico. Benzema Barely had a shot; Ederson Barely had a serious save to make until the game was almost concluded. Kyle Walker, playing through the pain barrier, was quite brilliant against Vinicius Junior until he limped off with 20 minutes remaining. He could not have done any more and one tackle on the Lightning quick Winger was just stunning. It took place at full pelt, on the slide, and in the penalty area. The tiniest misjudgement could have been Fatal.

And Guardiola was making what appeared Sensible, containing, changes. Ilkay Gundogan for Kevin De Bruyne was one. A goalless draw was enough. What we have, we hold. Of course they missed De Bruyne later, but hindsight’s a wonderful thing. At the time, the Bernabeu was subdued and the City were in charge. Then, having made changes to shore up the game, City scored.

What a set-up by Bernardo Silva. He ran storming through the middle, the heart of the Bernabeu, drawing opponents, creating space. Gabriel Jesus was on, and looked the obvious ball. But this is City, so Silva ignored it and went for something far Harder. Telepathically, he sensed Mahrez arriving like a train. He spurned Jesus and played him in instead. Mahrez’s shot was so powerful it didn’t matter that it was relatively close to the Courtois in goal. He was powerless to prevent it. It was Mahrez’s seventh in the competition, a record for City in the Champions League. Not that anyone will remember that now.

The game went to extra time and Manchester City were given 30 minutes to keep their Champions League dream alive

However, Ruben Dias went in clumsily on Benzema and gave away a penalty – which the striker slotted into the bottom right

Some think that being the manager of Real Madrid is just a case of getting 11 players on the field and letting them fly; that Carlo Ancelotti’s laidback demeanor is the result of living on easy street. Here was a game that showed why a Coach gets the Real Madrid gig. It’s not easy playing the best teams in the world; it’s not easy matching Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. And Ancelotti is not the passive presence he sometimes seems. A few times in the first-half he gave a couple of none-too-subtle signals – arms outstretched in the universal WTF gesture when passes went astray or the ball was simply hoofed into space – and Madrid’s ambition gradually grew.

Look, if you haven’t led until extra time in the second leg you’ve got away with one, and Ancelotti will know that. Yet his team stayed in the game. They stayed close enough to eventually win it, and that’s down to him. De Bruyne was taken off because, largely, Madrid nullified him. Ancelotti used Luka Modric to stop Rodri bringing the ball out of the back; he limited the impact of Mahrez until the goal. It would be wrong to say Madrid got Lucky. In parts, this was a very professional performance.

As in Manchester, City had a chance to put Madrid under significant pressure in the first-half. They rushed to a two-goal lead in the first leg but this was a more cautious affair. There was no shock and awe, but Silva could have made a big impact. In the 20th minute Phil Foden won the ball on the right and Rodri picked out De Bruyne, who moved the ball swiftly to Silva. The angle was tight but Silva Struck the ball well and Courtois did splendidly to keep it out.

There was a plenty of needle, too. Just eight minutes gone and referee Orsato booked Aymeric Laporte and Modric after a heated Clash. Laporte looked to have delivered a slap and then collapsed to the floor, as if from Recoil. It was all a bit laughable really, but not the sort of behavior Guardiola will have found amusing. His center-half booked so soon and Benzema on the prowl. It was an early sign of indiscipline. When City review what might have been, it is likely the keeping of heads will be high on the agenda.

Real Madrid were delighted with the result and instantly began celebrating with each other when the final whistle went

As a result, Manchester City have failed to secure a place in the Champions League final in Paris later this month

Relive the action as it happened with Sportsmail’s coverage of the Champions League semi-final second-leg Clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City.