Man City vs Real Madrid LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as holders exit after penalty shootout

The travelling Spanish contingent are enjoying themselves ahead of kick-off:

The Englishman was rested at the weekend but will hopefully be back in the starting XI tonight. What’s for sure is that he’s enjoyed his time in the competition, scoring in each of his last five starts in the Champions League (five goals); the joint-longest run by a Manchester City player in the competition, along with Sergio Agüero (Feb 2018-March 2019).

It’s tight between the two sides historically, with Man City winning four and Real Madrid three (four draws). What is guaranteed, though, is goals. Indeed, the last five meetings between Manchester City and Real Madrid in the Champions League have produced 23 goals, at an average of 4.6 per game.

Real Madrid suffered a humiliating defeat last time the two sides met at the Etihad Stadium, but Carlo Ancelotti is convinced his side will banish their demons as they look to reach yet another Champions League semi-final.

“In the last three years we’ve faced City and they’ve been spectacular games, tomorrow will be the same,” he said. “We have to compete and believe, which is what we’re trying to do today. The tie is level and we survived 90 minutes and anything can happen. We have to have the quality to create problems.

“We’re planning to put on a complete performance. Attacking and defending well, not losing the ball unnecessarily, playing well on the counter, controlling transitions. It has to be a very complete performance and we’re not focusing on just one aspect, we have to focus on all of them.”

After a disappointing set of results last week, the Premier League’s hopes of gaining an extra Champions League spot in next season’s revamped competition have been dealt a blow.

The Champions League is being expanded to a 36-team tournament from 2024/25 and two of the extra four places will be awarded to countries whose teams perform best in this season’s European competitions.

As confirmed by Uefa on their website, England sits third in the race, behind Italy and Germany, which would mean Serie A and the Bundesliga get a fifth Champions League place next season.

City will host Real Madrid at the Etihad following a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu, while it looks tougher for Arsenal as they will need to get a result at Bayern Munich after a 2-2 draw against the German side at the Emirates.

The outcome of that tie could be decisive in the race between the Premier League and Bundesliga, as Arsenal could deny Germany if the Gunners knock out Bayern in Munich.

As Jude Bellingham sat behind the top table at the Etihad Stadium, to his right were three massive images, filling a wall. Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Erling Haaland, each holding a trophy from Manchester City’s treble. There is an alternative future in which a supersized picture of him would stare out, where he could find himself next to Rodri and De Bruyne on a wall and in a midfield.

City wanted him last year. They were not alone in that. Liverpool did too, before bowing out of the bidding. And yet, for one of the most coveted players on the planet, the decision was actually a simple one.

It’s not just a big night for one of England’s top teams, with Arsenal travelling to Germany as they look to reach their first Champions League semi-final since 2009.

The Independent’s Miguel Delaney is in Munich for the big occasion:

If the treble was history, the double treble would be legacy. Bernardo Silva has an eye on a hat-trick of achievements that would echo through the ages. Manchester City won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League last season, a feat only previously accomplished by Manchester United in 1998-99.

In the last three decades, since the European Cup evolved into the Champions League, only Real Madrid have retained the trophy. Until, perhaps, City this season. And since the English league was established in 1888, no team has won four successive titles. With six games to go, City are two points clear at the top of the table, their fate entirely in their own hands.

For all Silva’s eloquence in possession, he has rarely been as outspoken in his ambition. Repeat the treble and City could have a claim to be the greatest side ever; a title which many currently afford to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Silva does not shy away from the idea. “It is obviously inspiration and motivation,” he said.

“We know how well this team has done and we want to create that legacy and to do another Premier League, to do six in seven years and four in a row, And we want to win the Champions League, to do two in a row. Only Madrid did three in a row but no one else won consecutive Champions League and if we win two trebles in a row that would be legacy.”

Pep Guardiola has urged Manchester City to retain the hunger required to win the Champions League rather than being complacent because they lifted the trophy last season.

City face Real Madrid in the second leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday after securing a 3-3 draw in the Bernabeu last week, with manager Guardiola saying they should not feel under less pressure because they ended their long wait to become champions of Europe.

He said: “We need to feel the pressure that you don’t want to lose the game. If you think we have done it already, we will not have this piece of hunger to compete against these teams. It’s true that the fact we won it has made us feel better and more comfortable but we need the right energy. Our people at home will help us a lot.”

Read more of the Spaniard’s thoughts below: