AYMERIC LAPORTE

(AP Photo/Dave Thompson) (Dave Thompson)MANCHESTER, England — (AP) — It was the coolest of penalties at the end of one of the wildest matches in Champions League history. With his cheekily dispatched “Panenka,” Karim Benzema might just have kept Real Madrid's chances alive against Manchester City in the semifinals. City built a two-goal lead three times but just couldn’t shake off Madrid, the kings of the competition — as City manager Pep Guardiola calls them. “We are all in this until the end.”With the France striker in its team, Madrid will never lose hope. His double here — after back-to-back hat tricks earlier in the knockout stage — took his total in the Champions League this season to a competition-high 14 goals.

Britain Soccer Champions League Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring his side's third goal from penalty during the Champions League semi final, first leg soccer match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson) (Dave Thompson)MANCHESTER, England — (AP) — Manchester City just couldn’t shake off Real Madrid. In a wild Champions League match that resembled a basketball game at times, City beat Madrid 4-3 in the first leg of the semifinals but will leave Etihad Stadium wondering how the record 13-time champions were still in it. Ultimately, Karim Benzema’s cheeky “Panenka” penalty in the 82nd minute saw Madrid escape with some hope of pulling off a comeback in next week’s second leg at Santiago Bernabeu. Benzema kept his composure while all around him were losing theirs, giving Madrid renewed belief of reaching a first final since 2018.

Manchester City just couldn’t shake off Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Man City dropping points, Newcastle winning a game and a drone stopping play.

Rodri scored a stoppage-time winner to complete Manchester City's comeback to win 2-1 at Arsenal and move the champions 11 points in front of second-place Chelsea at the top of the standings.

(AP Photo/Ian Walton) (Ian Walton)Manchester City's grip on its Premier League title hasn't been this strong all season. It has been an almost perfect 24 hours for City, which saw Liverpool — another rival for the title — surprisingly lose 1-0 at injury-hit Leicester on Tuesday. "There are 54 points still to play for.”Yet City is even winning when not playing its best. CHELSEA DENIEDIt's three draws in four league matches for Chelsea, whose strong early-season form has disappeared. Tuchel sounded like he has given up on winning the title, given the number of his players out through injury and illness.

Britain Soccer Premier League Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates after teammate Aymeric Laporte scored a goal that was later disallowed by VAR during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Manchester City at the Brentford Community Stadium in London, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Ian Walton) (Ian Walton)Manchester City's grip on its Premier League title hasn't been this strong all season. A 1-0 win at Brentford, coupled with Chelsea conceding a stoppage-time goal to draw 1-1 against Brighton, left the defending champions with an eight-point lead heading into the new year. It has been an almost perfect 24 hours for City, which saw Liverpool — another rival for the title — surprisingly lose 1-0 at injury-hit Leicester on Tuesday. CHELSEA DENIEDIt's three draws in four league matches for Chelsea, whose strong early-season form has disappeared.

Manchester City’s grip on its Premier League title hasn’t been this strong all season.

Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha has called on Instagram to take racism more seriously after being targeted with abuse after scoring in a 2-0 win at Manchester City on Saturday.

Mohamed Salah was too busy being asked about his wonder goal against Manchester City to get the chance to savor it again for himself after full time at Anfield.

Kevin De Bruyne scored Manchester City's second equalizer in the front of the Kop to secure a 2-2 draw at Liverpool in the Premier League.

Jack Grealish closed his eyes, looked toward the sky, and stuck his index fingers into his ears.

It’s a match between teams who have almost forgotten what it feels like to lose.

Sergio Ramos has been left off Spain’s squad for the European Championship following a season plagued by injuries.

APTOPIX Britain Soccer League Cup Final Manchester City's Aymeric Laporte, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English League Cup final soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday, April 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) (Alastair Grant)LONDON — (AP) — UEFA was meeting virtually with the British government on Monday to discuss the logistics of using Wembley for the all-English Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea. The travel waivers already granted by the government for the UEFA European Championship would have to be brought forward by two weeks to stage the May 29 final of its biggest club competition in London. But UEFA confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that it has already secured quarantine exemptions for its staff and media for the Euros in England with eight games at Wembley including the July 11 final. UEFA could also seek quarantine waivers for dignitaries and sponsors for the Champions League final, which could be attended by around 20,000 fans as will be the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday,___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Manchester City has won the League Cup for a fourth successive season by beating Tottenham 1-0.

Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan, right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English FA Cup sixth round soccer match between Everton and Manchester City at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)With an unprecedented quadruple still a possibility for Manchester City, the pressure on Pep Guardiola is intensifying heading into the final two months of the season. I will not watch games.”Few would begrudge him the break, with an intense 34-match, four-month stretch -- featuring games every three or four days -- concluding with a 2-0 win over Everton in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. AdIndeed, Guardiola’s players are sweeping all before them this season, having also reached the final of the English League Cup, the quarterfinals of the Champions League and forged a 14-point lead in the Premier League. "I’m looking forward to everyone coming back safe.”Southampton is the other team through to the FA Cup semifinals after beating second-tier Bournemouth 3-0 earlier Saturday.

The fans — 2,000 from West Ham, 2,000 from Chelsea — had contrasting experiences on opposite sides of London. Chelsea’s players treated their select group of attending fans to a comeback of their own at Stamford Bridge. The match saw respective managers Frank Lampard, of Chelsea, and Marcelo Bielsa, of Leeds, meet for the first time in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Guardiola didn’t make a single substitution, at a time when he is pushing the Premier League to increase the number of replacements from three to five for player-welfare reasons. It’s now 11 goals in 11 games for the Everton striker after scoring the equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Burnley.

Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Manchester City, at the London Olympic Stadium Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. Star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will be on board, recently back from injury and fresh from protestations about the workload being forced on soccer players this season. “I try to demand everything from my players,” City manager Pep Guardiola said at the weekend, “but there is a limit for human beings.”Sympathy is usually in short supply when it comes to Man City and the debate over workload and fixture congestion. In short, being the busiest team in English soccer in recent years appears to be taking its toll. If he is to add to his collection of trophies won at City since 2016, don’t expect them to come easily this season.

MANCHESTER – Ilkay Gundogan has become the latest Manchester City player to test positive for the coronavirus. The Premier League club gave no details of Gundogan's condition on Monday, only saying he would be self isolating for 10 days based on government protocols. “Everyone at the club wishes Ilkay a speedy recovery,” City said. Two weeks ago, City announced Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte had contracted COVID-19. City opens its season on Monday night against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

(Adrian Dennis/Pool via AP)WATFORD As the ball rolled past him and Manchester City's score racked up, goalkeeper Ben Foster increasingly feared for Watford's Premier League survival. It wasn't even lifted by Watford's last desperate roll of the dice firing its third manager of the season. Sterling set up the third when his close-range shot was saved by Foster Watford's star performer and Phil Foden tapped into an empty net in the 63rd minute. Javi Gracia was still at the helm when City crushed Watford 6-0 in the final game of last season in the FA Cup final. The Champions League doesn't resume until August when City will be protecting a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid in the last-16.

(AP Photo/Peter Powell,Pool)Aston Villa is out of the Premier Leagues relegation zone for the first time in five months. The fight to avoid dropping out of the worlds richest domestic league is heading to the final day of the season, with two relegation places still to be filled and three clubs in realistic danger. Arsenal lost to a relegation contender two days after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinals, highlighting the inconsistency that still bedevils Mikel Artetas team. CITY ROUTIf Watford does go down, at least it wont have to play Manchester City next season. Kevin De Bruyne provided the cross for Laportes goal for his 19th assist of the season, one off Thierry Henrys record for one season.