Real Madrid and Manchester City promoted football on Tuesday evening. The quarter-final of the Champions League between the two European superpowers ended in a 3-3 draw after a grand spectacle. The goals of City in particular, who scored three times from outside the penalty area, were of great beauty.

The diptych between City and Real was labeled in advance as a final-worthy poster. Both clubs have been in the final several times in recent years, but now faced each other in the quarter-finals.

What was noticeable about City's line-up was the absence of Kevin De Bruyne. The tastemaker reportedly suffered from a flu virus shortly before the match, after which Pep Guardiola decided to bench him.

Anyone who did not turn on for Real – City promptly at 9 p.m. was doing themselves a disservice. Both teams fully pressed the accelerator from the first whistle, which led to a killer pace with opportunities on both sides.

The score was 0-1 after just one minute of play, when Bernardo Silva suddenly decided to shoot a free kick on target. The Portuguese surprised goalkeeper Andriy Lunin in the short corner. City could not enjoy the lead for a long time, as Real leveled the score ten minutes later.

Eduardo Camavinga decided to take a shot from about twenty meters. The Framsman's shot was touched by Ruben Días, leaving Stefan Ortega without a chance. Another minute later, Ortega was beaten again by a deflected shot. This time Rodrygo's bet came: 2-1.

Both teams had opportunities in the first act to further increase their goal production, but were unable to do so. The killer pace meant that even the directing sometimes had to be neglected.

After the break, the entertainment value remained high and City completely turned the match around. Guardiola's team had to watch Erling Haaland being isolated by Antonio Rüdiger, after which they tried their luck from a distance. And with success.

While it was first Phil Foden who found the net with a beautiful long-range shot for the 2-2, not much later it was Josko Gvardiol who was also successful from distance: 3-2. It was the Croatian's first goal for City.

Real once again hunted for the equalizer in the final phase and succeeded. After a cross from Vinícius, Federico Valverde suddenly took the ball out of the air: 3-3.

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