Why Man City vs. Real Madrid was epic: What made 4-3 Champions League semifinal thriller an instant classic

There's nothing quite like Champions League football. 

One of the most incredible and memorable matches in recent Champions League memory unfolded at the Etihad as Man City topped Real Madrid 4-3 in the first leg of their semifinal matchup.

The game featured everything fans would want to see from a game: incredible skill, spectacular goals, solid refereeing, dramatic twists and turns, and stars performing at the highest level on the brightest stage.

These are two of the best teams in world football today, but you can't help but wonder whether the elimination of the away goals rule might have contributed in allowing these two teams to express themselves as they did. Whatever the reason for the incredible 90 minutes in Manchester, fans around the world were thankful.

The match ended as the joint-highest scoring Champions League semifinal alongside two 5-2 results in 1995 and 2018. This one featured far more drama in a tightly-contested affair.

7 - Man City 4-3 Real Madrid is the joint-highest scoring ever Champions League semi-final, along with Ajax 5-2 Bayern Munich (April 1995) and Liverpool 5-2 Roma (April 2018). Breathless. pic.twitter.com/AqUWHzY59A

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 26, 2022

"One of the best lights of my life in my career as a manager for the fact of the way we have done it," said Man City manager Pep Guardiola after the match, despite watching potentially decisive multi-goal leads disappear. "I'm so proud and so incredibly happy the way we performed in front of the world."

Tomorrow's back page: Madness https://t.co/i8nhWyQIzR #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/nvQ1mKjsJb

— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) April 26, 2022

MORE: Minute-by-minute recap of the Man City vs. Real Madrid Champions League thriller

Here are the moments that we won't easily forget.

Fans not in their seats at the opening whistle missed the first big moment of the match.

Just 95 seconds into the game, Manchester City had the opening goal, as Kevin de Bruyne's brilliance was on display from the opening whistle.

Riyad Mahrez put the ball on a platter and De Bruyne got his head to the delivery, redirecting it into the back of the net. Madrid's man-marking in the box was questionable all match, and it started in the opening seconds. 

Kevin De Bruyne just scored the quickest UCL semifinal goal EVER