Manchester City managed a 3-3 draw away at Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash.

Long-range strikes from Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol looked to have secured a dramatic win on the night for Pep Guardiola’s European champions after Madrid had scored twice in the space of two minutes to take the lead following Bernardo Silva’s early goal.

Two deflected strikes brought 14-time European Cup winners Madrid level. First, Eduardo Camavinga’s long-range effort hit Ruben Dias and spun into the far corner of Stefan Ortega’s goal, before Rodrygo got in behind the City defense and poked home via Manuel Akanji’s heel.

There was no let-up in the action in the second half, both teams missing chances before City’s talented young midfielder Phil Foden collected a John Stones pass and unleashed a delightful curling shot into the top corner for his fifth goal in his last six Champions League appearances to level at 2-2.

Five minutes later Joško Gvardiol chose the perfect time to score his first-ever City goal, crashing an unstoppable long-range strike inside Lunin’s left-hand upright.

“This was a well-balanced game; both teams competed to the limit; it was a hard-fought draw. For as long as we pressed them, we were in very good shape. We tried hard to take advantage of our capacity to play quick-transition football. We wanted to take even a slender advantage into the second leg, but I think we need to be satisfied with a lot tonight. We competed very well, and if we do that again next week, then we can go through,” stated Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti.

“I think that was a really good, entertaining match that dignified this competition. Both teams wanted to attack in a different way. What I liked most was how we played in the second half at 2-1 down. We showed composure; we controlled the game really well. In Manchester, it will be a sell-out in our stadium; our fans will try to help us score the 1-0, then we’ll do the rest. The team that wins next week goes to the semi-final,” stated City’s manager, Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City, who won this competition for the first time last season as part of a historic Treble, came into this game with Kevin de Bruyne on the bench after the Belgium midfielder was ill on Tuesday.

They got the perfect start when Silva cleverly curled in the opener after Aurelien Tchouameni, who will now miss the second leg, fouled Jack Grealish.

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