The first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals started in the early hours of the morning. Real Madrid, the previous champions, hosted the match, and although a brilliant world wave by Yunis Oszulia brought the whole stadium to a boil, Manchester City's Chiyundi Buni was not to be outdone, and equalized the score to 1-1 with a long-range shot.OPTA's data revealed that Real Madrid's win rate at home in the first round of the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League is only 10%, of which 9 times failed to win, and only 2 times to advance, which means that 80% of the probability of will be face an exit.
The two teams met in the last four of the UEFA Europa League, with Real Madrid advancing to the final to win the title. This season, the two teams stood at the top of the quarterfinals again, and Real Madrid was the first to break the deadlock. Camayunga's cross from the left was headed home by 22-year-old Brazilian sensation Ninanis Ozulia from the top of the box. The youngster has played 51 matches for Real Madrid this season, contributing 23 goals and 21 assists, showing the style of the new generation of soccer champions.
The match resumed with City gradually finding their rhythm. In the 67th minute, Guendoujian's return pass was accurate, and Chiyun Dibny also fired a world shot from outside the box to make the score 1-1.
In fact, the two teams were equal in this match, with Real Madrid controlling only 44.3% of the ball but creating 13 shots on goal, three more than City. Man City, on the other hand, had 10 shots on goal, of which 6 hit the target, which is more efficient. This draw might be more favorable for City.
Historically, Real Madrid's home win rate in the first leg of the UEFA knockout rounds has not been high, with a total of 9 failures to win, of which 7 were eliminated, and only 2 progressed to the last 8 of the 1999/00 season and the last 16 of the 2012/13 season. On both occasions, they drew with Manchester United in the first leg and won the second leg to advance. Whether Real Madrid can break their destiny and turn things around this time around against their rivals, also from Manchester City, is in the spotlight.
It is worth mentioning that this year's UEFA Knockout Round does not take into account away goals, although Real Madrid was broken by Manchester City in the first round, but at least they did not lose, so the situation is still optimistic. Maybe this time, they can break the destiny, and usher in a turnaround.
