Real Madrid reached their 14th European Cup final and ended Manchester Citys hopes of a maiden title after securing a 1-0 victory in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash yesterday (4 May). Zinedine Zidanes side will face city rivals Atletico in the final for the second time in three seasons after a first-half own goal from Fernando was enough to secure a narrow win that barely reflected Reals dominant display.
After last weeks goalless first-leg stalemate, Madrid, chasing a record-extending 11th European title, opened the scoring after 20 minutes when Gareth Bales cross was deflected into the top corner by the City midfielder. Coach Manuel Pellegrini admitted he was not satisfied with his sides lack of attacking penetration.
Of course Im not happy in the way we created. We tried but we couldnt. I think we didnt deserve to lose this game. Madrid was very lucky with their goal or we were very unlucky because it was a cross and the deflection put the ball in the top corner. Of course that goal gave them more time to play. Both teams, I think, not only our team, couldnt create. It was very similar to the first leg, he said.
None of the teams deserved to defeat the other. Luck is always needed and today Real Madrid had it. The goal was a deflected cross. They didnt have control of the match and they couldnt score another goal, but neither could we. It would have been fair for any of the teams to reach the final. Both teams showed a poor creative level in both games, he added.
