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‘Shipwrecked’, ‘City of Martians’ – Media reacts to Manchester City’s thrashing of Real Madrid

Manchester City battered Real Madrid 4-0 in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Etihad Stadium to progress to the final 5-1 on aggregate.

The Cityzens took no prisoners from the outset, with Bernardo Silva stealing the limelight with a double before an Eder Militao own goal and Julian Alvarez’s strike completed the victory.

Madrid were tipped to make things difficult for City as they did in the first leg, but it was the exact opposite last night at the Etihad.

The reigning European champions were all over the place as they succumbed to one of their heaviest defeats of the season.

Los Blancos had to thank Thibaut Courtois for his heroic saves on an otherwise forgettable night. The scoreline could have been humiliating were it not for the Belgian goalkeeper.

European media made a meal out of Madrid while praising City’s tremendous effort.

Marca described Madrid’s performance as ‘shipwrecked’ while criticising manager Carlo Ancelotti for looking out of depth throughout.

Diario AS claimed it was a ‘portrait of disaster’ and singled out Courtois for preventing Madrid from total annihilation.


Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote ‘City of Martians’- from another world – and highlighted their growing chances of winning the treble.

Ancelotti came under scrutiny following the agonising defeat but insisted that he has no doubts about continuing at the Santiago Bernabeu next season.

The Italian manager stated that he had held talks with President Florentino Perez and clarified his future.

“Nobody doubts my future, because the president has been quite clear 15 days ago,” Ancelotti said.

Madrid have witnessed their arch-rivals Barcelona lift the La Liga title and suffered a Champions League semi-final exit in a few days.

However, they have won Copa del Rey and FIFA Club World Cup this season.

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