Cristiano Ronaldo praised the quality of Spain’s domestic league after his side sealed an all-Madrid Champions League final with a 1-0 aggregate win over Manchester City.
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Bale’s right-footed shot ricocheted off City midfielder Fernando on its way into the top corner to break the deadlock in the tie in 20th minute, with Madrid going on to dominate the encounter despite failing to add to their lead.
“None of the teams deserved to win and we should have gone to penalties”.
“My Spanish is getting better and I’m integrating more with the team”. We tried to create some chances but it was hard. However, it was the first time Manchester City made it to the semi-final of the competition and under their new manager next season will be hoping to go one step further and perhaps win the trophy for the very first time in their history.
The Galacticos won that final 4-1 after extra time but there was no goal glut against the English visitors. “Our problem was we were not very creative”.
An away goal would have turned things City’s way, and the English club nearly got it when Fernandinho’s low shot from inside the area grazed the near post in the 44th. “Nights like Wednesday are fantastic and I want to keep them coming”.
However, Bale admitted the 20th-minute goal that finally separated the two sides was slightly fortunate, with the forward’s centre taking a crucial deflection off Fernando on its way past City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Bale has previously come under fire for perceived under-performance in the Spanish capital, with the tag of being the world’s most expensive player apparently weighing heavy on his shoulders.
Zidane replaced the sacked Rafael Benitez with Madrid in crisis in January, but has sparked just Real’s second run to the final in the 14 years since he scored the winning goal against Bayer 04 Leverkusen for Real in 2002.
By contrast, City was dealt a massive injury blow inside 10 minutes when captain Vincent Kompany was forced off once more with a muscle problem in an injury-disrupted campaign. Instead he pointed to a lack of creativity from both teams but did concede disappointment at City failing to reach the showpiece in Milan on May 28th. The final also means that the Madrid Derby rivals will meet in the Champions League for a third consecutive season – two finals and last season’s quarterfinals.
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Madrid took charge of the game from the start, while City defended deep.
