Real Madrid’s astonishing comeback leaves Manchester City nursing heartbreak

Manchester City are left nursing yet more Champions League heartbreak after Real Madrid produced the most astonishing of a growing list of incredible comebacks.

Pep Guardiola’s side were moments away from booking a second successive final appearance, and setting up an all-English showpiece against rivals Liverpool in Paris, when Real caught them with a stunning sucker punch.

Leading 1-0 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate after Riyad Mahrez’s 73rd-minute strike in a tense semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu, City were rocked when Brazilian Rodrygo struck a quickfire double with 90 minutes on the clock.

That sent an epic tie into extra time and City never recovered from the shock, conceding again soon after when Ruben Dias felled Karim Benzema and the prolific Frenchman stepped up to convert the resulting penalty.

It meant yet another near miss for City and Guardiola after last year’s runners-up finish, while further enhancing 13-times champion Real’s mystique after their fightbacks against Paris St Germain and Chelsea in the previous rounds.

“We were close,” said Guardiola, whose wait to add to the two Champions League successes he enjoyed as Barcelona manager in 2009 and 2011 goes on. “It is tough for us, we cannot deny that.

“We were so close to arriving in the Champions League final.

“We didn’t play good in the first half. We didn’t find our game but that is normal in this competition.

“The second half was much better. After the goal we had control, we found our game but unfortunately we could not finish when we were close.”

Mahrez’s effort gave City a two-goal cushion for the fourth time in the tie but, as in last week’s classic first encounter at the Etihad Stadium, they missed chances to add to it.

This time they