'Miracle': Spanish Papers Hail Real Madrid's Champions League Semifinal Fightback Against Man City

Real Madrid can be considered as the true European giants in football, having won the UEFA Champions League a record 13 times in the past. Besides, they are the only club to complete a hat-trick of titles in the continental competition, a feat the Spaniards achieved from 2016 to 2018.

Premier League champions Manchester City and Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid produced one of the greatest games in Champions League history on Tuesday — with the English side eventually winning the thriller 4-3 at the Etihad Stadium.

City cruised to a 2-0 lead in the first 11 minutes of the blockbuster encounter and had a 4-2 advantage after 74 minutes.

Real could have lost the game by a much bigger margin, but the Spaniards came roaring back in the contest with club talisman Karim Benzema delivering a brilliant brace of goals.

Though the Liga table toppers still lost the match 4-3, the country's newspapers claimed on Wednesday that Real's comeback was a "miracle" considering City's utter dominance of the match.

Spain's leading sports paper Marca lauded the efforts of Benzema and his colleagues with the headline: "Miracle to miracle".

Meanwhile another outlet, Mundo Deportivo, called it "beating without knockout" on its front page.

But Madrid-based daily Sport perhaps summed up Real's performance best with the downbeat headline "Madrid come out alive".

Las reacciones de la prensa al City-Real Madrid: 'Milagro a milagro', 'Locura', 'El Madrid sale vivo'... 📰☕ #LasPortadas https://t.co/LZI3jjMNSg pic.twitter.com/6o4ztY5KYm

— MARCA (@marca) April 27, 2022

The Spanish press' reaction may have been justified since Carlo Ancelotti's men not only had their backs to the wall, but looked down and out during the match.

City could have killed the game had Riyad Mahrez not wasted his chance to secure a 3-0 lead for his team in the first half.

But Madrid got a new lease of life after the Algerian decided against passing the ball to Phil Foden, who could have easily driven it into the net from their empty penalty area.

As City only managed to win the first leg by a single goal, Spanish newspapers believe Ancelotti's team will be able to overcome the deficit during the return fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu next week.

Real have been impregnable at home, having previously beaten the likes of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Chelsea in the tournament in front of their supporters at the Bernabeu.