Without Ronaldo, Real Madrid were held to a draw in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.

(Baonghean.vn) - Without Ronaldo on the field and with other stars having to leave the pitch early, the match between Man City and Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final was not very exciting.

Ronaldo had to watch his teammates play from the stands.

Ronaldo returned to Manchester – the city where he spent six years – but not at his familiar Old Trafford stadium, but at the Citizens' Stadium, the home ground of his former club's rival. During his six years in the Premier League, the Portuguese superstar scored many spectacular goals at this very stadium. However, last night, he didn't have the chance to do so in front of over 55,000 Manchester City fans. His injury hadn't fully recovered, forcing him to watch his teammates play from the stands.

Without their most notable star, the first leg of the semi-final was rather uninspiring, despite the remaining players being of very high quality. With the home advantage and the technical skill and mobility of their two attacking midfielders, David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, Man City started better and dominated their opponents in terms of possession.

Striker Aguero (left) had a lackluster performance.

However, before creating any truly dangerous opportunities, the home team suffered a setback when David Silva had to leave the field due to injury at the end of the first half. Without their most important player, from the second half onwards, Man City didn't dare push forward in attack, adopting a very low defensive line. The central midfield pairing of Fernando and Fernandinho stood out, actively contesting and effectively containing Kroos and Modric from the visitors. However, the remaining midfielders, Navas, de Bruyne, and Iheanacho, failed to provide adequate assists, resulting in a rather lackluster performance from the home team's only striker, Aguero.

On Real Madrid's side, despite being considered the stronger team, the absence of Ronaldo meant the Spanish side played very cautiously, especially in the first half. In the second half, Benzema also had to leave the field due to injury. However, noticing Man City's timidity, coach Zidane instructed his players to push forward and create clear scoring opportunities. In the 54th minute, a goal seemed imminent when Ramos headed the ball skillfully after a corner kick from Toni Kroos, but unfortunately, the ball went straight into Joe Hart's hands.

Even the expensive Gareth Bale failed to create any dangerous scoring opportunities.

The final minutes of the match were filled with fear for the home fans and players as Real Madrid relentlessly threatened Joe Hart's goal. In the 71st minute, the visitors launched a brilliant attack down the right wing, and Jese had a close-range header opportunity, but the ball hit the crossbar. In the 79th minute, Casemiro headed the ball from just 5 meters out, but it went straight to the English goalkeeper. Three minutes later, Man City's luck continued to favor them when Pepe faced Joe Hart and had a clear shot. Once again, the ball went wide, straight past the 1.96m tall goalkeeper.

In the third minute of added time, Keylor Navas saved the visitors with a save from Kevin de Bruyne's free-kick. That was also the last dangerous opportunity of the match.

The 0-0 draw at the Etihad could be considered a slight advantage for Real Madrid before returning to the Bernabeu. However, with a clean sheet at home, Man City also have reason to be satisfied.

Mai Anh