The tie was finely poised after a 1-1 first-leg draw at the Bernabeu last week, but City had already put distance between themselves and Los Blancos by half-time in the return leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Bernardo Silva’s double was followed up by Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez, making it 4-0 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate as City set up a bumper Champions League final against Inter Milan next month.
Pep Guardiola’s side could have made the margin even wider, but for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ heroics in the Real Madrid goal. Naturally, the Belgian avoided the brunt of the post-match media frenzy, but four of his team-mates weren’t so lucky.
After what Mundo Deportivo dubbed a ‘disaster’, AS laid into the experienced midfield duo of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. Both players were substituted long before the full-time whistle after being given the runaround in the middle of the park.
The German and his Croatian partner in crime were said to be ‘outclassed’ by their opponents in Manchester, with Rodri and John Stones starting at the base of midfield for the hosts, while the same report referred to reigning Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema as ‘non-existent’.
Camavinga was branded ‘ignorant’ by Marca for City’s opener, which saw Bernardo lash home after Kevin De Bruyne’s through pass, although the youngster certainly wasn’t helped by Vinicius Jr. ahead of him, who negated his defensive duties for most of the game.
The Brazilian was broadly let off the hook by the Spanish press, however, after scoring in the first leg and showing intent to try and take the game to City after the break. Walker still earned rave reviews for his marking job against Vinicius, who was effectively kept under wraps.
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