Man City hold Real Madrid

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

Real Madrid failed to turn late domination into a goal without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo as Manchester City held on for a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final yesterday.

City goalkeeper Joe Hart prevented Madrid from taking an away goal back to Spain for next week's second leg, producing close-range saves from Casemiro and Pepe in the final 10 minutes of a cagey match at Etihad Stadium.

"Before the game, it was 50-50," Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. "I think it's the same."

City may not get a better chance to beat Madrid, who played half of the first leg without their two most potent attackers. Ronaldo had been nursing a right thigh injury and "felt something" in a training session Monday, according to Zidane, while Karim Benzema started, but didn't come out for the second half after attempting to play through a knee problem.

City, though, couldn't capitalise and managed just two shots on target - one of which was a free kick from Kevin De Bruyne that was tipped over the bar in second-half injury time.

"We were not very creative," City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. "But in terms of intent, we had most intent to win the game."