Manchester City vs. Real Madrid - Football Match Report - May 17, 2023 - ESPN

Manchester City cast off the demons of 2022 to beat Real Madrid 4-0 in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night in a dominant display by the Premier League leaders.

Level at 1-1 following the first leg in Madrid, Bernardo Silva netted a pair of goals in the opening 45 minutes to give the hosts breathing room at half-time, while Eder Militao's own goal and a tidy finish by Julian Alvarez before full-time gave City a 5-1 aggregate win to set up a June 10 final showdown with Inter Milan in Istanbul.

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It was all City from the outset with Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois making a pair of stellar saves to keep out a pair of Erling Haaland headers in the early going and Kevin De Bruyne flashing a free kick from distance just wide of the near post.

The relentless pressure from Pep Guardiola's side finally paid off in the 23rd minute when De Bruyne played a defence-splitting pass to Sliva, who cut onto his left foot and powered a shot past Courtois.

Fifteen minutes later, Silva had his second. This time the Portugal international placed a lovely, looping header past Courtois after the rebound from Ilkay Gundogan's close-range strike sat up perfectly for him.

Madrid — the 14-time European champions — barely had a sniff of the ball, much less the City goal, throughout the entirety of the first half as the home team took a two-goal aggregate lead to the break.

Carlo Ancelotti's team came out looking sharper in the second half but were still unable to fashion any quality chances, with City having the best look in the 73rd minute only for Courtois to once again deny Haaland from close range.

The decisive goal came soon after, though,