Real Madrid 3 Manchester City 2:JOSE MOURINHO ended this breathless contest on his knees with a sliding turf-surfing celebration that was fuelled by relief as much as joy.
Until Cristiano Ronaldo dropped a hip to remove Pablo Zabaleta before unloading a dipping shot from the left angle that Joe Hart should have saved, the Real Madrid manager had witnessed a frantic close to the game that threatened to cause a week- long inquisition into him and his team.
Mourinho’s promise that “the best” Real Madrid would turn up had appeared empty. In this collision of more than half a billion pounds worth of supreme talent, first Edin Dzeko then Alexsandar Kolarov scored the goals that appeared to seal for Manchester City a memorable victory.
Real, as their pedigree should, answered. A Marcelo curled shot that beat Hart provided the first Madrid equaliser before Karim Benzema answered Kolarov’s strike and Ronaldo stepped up in the 90th minute to grab the glory as the world’s second-best player should.
The headline team news consisted of Matija Nastasic being preferred to Joleon Lescott in central defence for a debut to remember, and Real’s Michael Essien being preferred to Mesut Ozil, Luka Modric and Kaka in a 4-3-2-1 formation that had Ronaldo marauding from the left. This was the first home game for Madrid since Ronaldo declared himself unhappy, the theory being that the number seven’s disquiet is due more to pay-rise jockeying than a love deficit for the Bernabeu.
In the opening 15 minutes the Portuguese put on a show full of darting runs and ever-more menacing assaults on Joe Hart’s goal, as City soaked up the expected onslaught from the nine-times European Cup winners.
An early shot from Ronaldo dribbled along the turf. His next flashed across Hart. Then Gonzalo Higuain played in the former Manchester United man, again down the left, and the attempt was saved by Hart for a first corner.
The closest the contest came to providing a goal in the opening half-hour came from two chances, each for Madrid, with one involving Ronaldo. The impressive Angelo Di Maria sprayed the ball wide and, when the 27-year-old cut in, his bullet of a shot was saved by Hart with a sideways starfish leap.
The same manoeuvre rescued City moments later. Di Maria flipped a quarter-back’s pass over the defence at Higuain, who looked at the assistant referee as his fellow countryman appeared offside. When no flag went up Higuain ran on, though a clumsy touch allowed Hart to spread his frame and smother the ball. When it broke back to the striker, Ronaldo was again on hand to receive and shoot. But the effort was deflected and Sami Khedira could not capitalise.
When Di Maria set up Higuain with another spooned ball, the striker was again unable to finish.
For City there were a couple of surging Yaya Toure runs plus a move involving Maicon that looked to exploit what has been Madrid’s defensive Achilles heel this season, an aerial vulnerability that does not usually feature in a Mourinho XI. This weakness was behind Sergio Ramos’ demotion to the bench to make way for the 19-year-old Raphael Varane. However, when Maicon crossed from the right, both Varane and Pepe had problems with the delivery.
That was about it for City before the break, with Carlos Tevez receiving scant sight of the ball in his role as lone striker. Goalless at half-time, though, would have pleased Mancini, especially after seeing the injured Samir Nasri limp off just past the half-hour.
Alexsandar Kolarov, Nasri’s replacement, was called into duty early in the second half: blocking a pass to Di Maria who would have had just Hart to beat.
Ronaldo, who had been missing in action since his initial surge, produced a run and cross which caused Clichy problems as Di Maria came close to pick-pocketing him. Ronaldo had announced his return to the fray and, of course, is not a man to avoid the spotlight, as he went on to have the final, dramatic say.
Guardian Service
REAL MADRID:Casillas, Arbeloa, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo, Khedira (Modric 73), Alonso, Di Maria, Essien (Ozil 65), Ronaldo, Higuain (Benzema 73). Subs not used: Adan, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao, Kaka.
MANCHESTER CITY:Hart, Maicon (Zabaleta 74), Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy, Javi Garcia, Silva (Dzeko 63), Toure, Barry, Nasri (Kolarov 36), Tevez. Subs not used: Pantilimon, Lescott, Aguero, Rodwell. Booked: Javi Garcia, Kompany, Dzeko.
Referee:Damir Skomina (Slovenia).
