Real Madrid will be aiming to overturn a one-goal deficit when they welcome Manchester City to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night.
Pep Guardiola's men threatened to run away with the tie in the first leg as Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus struck in front of the home crowd.
However, Real's timeless veteran Karim Benzema bagged two goals of his own alongside Vinicius Junior's solo effort to ensure that Carlo Ancelotti's side would keep the tie alive after a true European classic.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at Real Madrid and Manchester City's head-to-head record before the second leg commences.
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The 4-3 thriller at the Etihad Stadium represented the seventh competitive meeting between Man City and Real Madrid in Europe, with the English side picking up three wins compared to a pair of triumphs for Real.
The two clubs first locked horns in the group stage of the 2012-13 tournament, where City let a 2-1 lead at the Bernabeu slip as Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo struck late to hand Real Madrid a 3-2 win in the inaugural meeting.
Benzema would find the net at the Etihad in the clubs' second meeting later that year before a Sergio Aguero penalty allowed City to rescue a 1-1 draw, and the first leg of their 2015-16 semi-final at the Etihad ended goalless.
In a stark contrast to the goal-laden first leg of last week, Real needed just the one strike to progress past City in 2015-16, as Fernando's own goal helped Los Blancos to a 1-0 aggregate triumph en route to the 2015-16 crown.
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City failed to win any of their first four meetings with Real Madrid in Europe, but they have since marched to a trio of consecutive wins against the capital giants in the Champions League knockout rounds.
Just before the first COVID-19 enforced lockdown, City beat Real 2-1 on their own turf in the first leg of their 2019-20 last-16 battle before coming up trumps by the same scoreline behind closed doors six months later.
Guardiola's side would have been frustrated to allow Los Blancos a route back into last week's first leg, but they are now on the verge of joining Bayern Munich and Ajax as one of the few teams to post four consecutive wins against Real in Europe.
Furthermore, Real have never progressed to the final of the Champions League when losing the first leg of a semi-final, so history is certainly not on the side of the 13-time European champions ahead of a second leg with a lot to live up to.
Ben Knapton
