Missed chance for City?

Manchester City’s first-ever Champions League semi-final is finely poised after a tense 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium, but it felt like a missed opportunity for Manuel Pellegrini’s men, writes Nick Wright…

It was just over an hour before kick-off when the news broke. Cristiano Ronaldo, the man with a staggering record of 93 goals in 125 Champions League appearances, the man who dragged Real Madrid into the semi-finals almost single-handedly, would spend his return to Manchester on the sidelines.

The Portuguese superstar had failed to recover from a thigh injury despite his manager’s pre-match assertion that he would be “100 per cent” fit, and as he wandered around the tunnel at the Etihad Stadium and took his seat in the stands before kick-off, the stage was set for City to take advantage.

The home supporters certainly seemed to sense City’s opportunity. The Etihad Stadium was a cauldron of noise as the players emerged for kick-off, with roaring fans waving blue and white flags and a huge City display adorning the East Stand. It was a spine-tingling way to begin one of the biggest night’s in the club’s history, but on the pitch there was rather less to get excited about.

City could not find the end product to match their tenacity in the opening exchanges and their struggles in the final third were summed up by Kevin de Bruyne, who repeatedly popped up in dangerous areas but failed to take advantage as the home side’s attacks floundered.

Caution soon took over on both sides, and such was the caginess of the encounter that the first shot of the game didn’t arrive until …

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