Madrid: Manchester United came out happy from their Champions League Round-of-16 first leg tie against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu earning a 1-1 draw on Wednesday night. Danny Welbeck put United in front before Cristiano Ronaldo got Real back on a level. Both goals came in the first half.
United made the first move of the match in the second minute with Karim Benzema finding Sami Khedira inside the box but the German placed it wide of the far post. The next notable thing came three minutes later when United striker Robin Van Persie was booked for pushing Sergio Ramos. In the very next minute, left-winger Fabio Coentrao went close to putting the hosts in front but his right-footed shot hit the far post after a deflection off Red Devils goalkeeper David de Gea.
United, against the run of play, scored through Welbeck in the 20th minute with the England striker heading in a Wayne Rooney corner from the left. The goal put springs into the legs of the tourist players as they started dictating terms.
Ronaldo almost got the equalizer with a fierce kick outside the box in the 30th minute, but it missed the near post by a whisker. However, the former Unitedman made no mistake seconds later as he headed in a long cross from Angel Di Maria to put Real back on level terms.
Ronaldo almost put his team ahead on a long ball from Mesut Ozil in the 38th minute but his shot from the right was parried by a diving De Gea. The Portugal captain continued getting opportunities but he couldn't make the most of them.
The second-half was quiet in contrast to the first with the first real action coming in the 60th minute: Coentrao dived full length to meet Khedira's cross from the right in the box and managed to tap it in the direction of the goal but the Portuguese's effort was hampered by an ever alert De Gea.
Van Persie broke Real's spell of dominance in the 71st minute but his shot from the right was palmed on to the crossbar by goalkeeper Diego Lopez. The Dutchman had another opportunity the very next second but this time his mistimed shot was cleared by Xabi Alonso just before it could cross the goal line.
In the dying moments of the game, both teams came up with a few decent opportunities but nothing desirable came of it. The second leg will be played on March 5 at Old Trafford.
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