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What Hi-Fi?

Technology

Andy Murray

Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream: how to watch the Champions League semi-final free online and on TV today, first leg, teams news

Real Madrid the Champions League Manchester City (Geopolitical Entity) Madrid BT Sport RTE Player Erling Haaland Pep Guardiola Rodrygo Stan Sport

Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates after scoring ahead of the Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid

Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream

Real Madrid vs Manchester City is free to watch on RTE Player in Ireland. It's on BT Sport in the UK, Paramount+ (free trial) in the US. You can also watch a Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream today on Stan Sport in Australia. Use a VPN to watch your usual free stream from anywhere if you happen to be abroad. Full details on how to watch tonight's Real Madrid vs Manchester City first leg just below.

The teams are in and Real Madrid go with the XI that everyone expected, with Karim Benzema captaining Carlo Ancelotti's side and flanked by Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior up front. Eder Militao is suspended, so Toni Rudiger gets a start alongside David Alaba at centre-back, with Eduardo Camavinga as an auxiliary left-back. Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Fede Valverde are the central midfield trio, with Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard on the bench. For Manchester City, Pep Guardiola are also at full strength, with Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva all starting. Jack Grealish is also in from the off, with Manuel Akanji in defence with Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias. It remains to be seen whether John Stones plays in midfield or at centre-back. Riayd Mahrez, Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden are all on the bench.

IRE: Free Real Madrid vs Man City live stream on RTE Player
USA: Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream on Paramount+ (free trial)
AUS: Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream on Stan Sport
UK: Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream on BT Sport
Watch your local stream from abroad with ExpressVPN

Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream: match preview

There's nothing like a massive European semi-final to really get the midweek juices flowing. But forget about Eurovision, the Champions League last-four clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City is where it's at on Tuesday evening. A repeat of last year's semi, los Blancos will hope to avoid need for the nerve-shredding injury-time comeback that took them through 12 months ago, while Pep Guardiola's City are desperate to avenge that devastating defeat. Expect fireworks.

Real Madrid picked up their second trophy of the season at the weekend as a brace from in-form Brazilian wide man Rodrygo was enough to beat a spirited Osasuna 2-1 in the Copa del Rey final. Already Club World Cup winners after disposing of Al Hilal back in February, the defending European champions are programmed to succeed when it comes to one-off encounters and have plenty of history behind them to go into yet another Champions League semi-final full of confidence. The 14-time winners can count on 29-goal top scorer Karim Benzema up front, the Frenchman one of four player in los Blancos' squad with Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Nacho who are chasing a record-equalling sixth European crown. Only third in La Liga, 14 points behind champions-elect Barcelona, after an inconsistent domestic campaign, Europe is where they come alive, with Rodrygo's injury-time heroics to overhaul City's unassailable position 12 months ago testament to their never-say-die spirit.

There's a very good reason why Manchester City went so hard to get Erling Haaland last summer. Sure, the 50-plus goals the Norwegian goal bot has struck this season seem pretty self-evident now, but it was the heartbreaking semi-final defeat to Madrid at this stage last season that crystallised Pep Guardiola's determination to sign centre-forward for the big moments. City had plenty of chances to definitively kill off the game at the Bernabeu last season and still went into injury time with a two-goal cushion to reach the final only to become frazzled by Madrid's inevitability. Of all Guardiola's so-called 'overthinking' in City's past European defeats, this was the one that hurt. With an insatiable No.9 to put any such worries to bed before squeaky-bum time, City will be going all out for their second Champions League final and what will be their brilliant manager's first for 12 years. Kevin De Bruyne is finding form at the business end of the season, while impish schemer Jack Grealish has also found the consistency few believe the £100m man would show in a City shirt. Could having home advantage in the second leg this time prove crucial?

Real Madrid vs Manchester City kicks off at 8pm BST / 3pm EDT today, Tuesday 9th May, at the Bernabeu, Madrid. Make sure you know how to watch a free Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream by reading below.

IRE: watch Real Madrid vs Manchester City

Free Champions League live stream

Real Madrid vs Manchester City will be shown live on RTE Two and can streamed free on RTE Player.

Travelling outside Ireland?

Use VPN to unblock RTE Player and watch from anywhere

Watch Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream from anywhere

You won't be able to watch your regular Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream while traveling abroad. The streaming service will spot that you're in a foreign country and block you. You can use a VPN (virtual private network) to get around this, though.

It's a straightforward piece of software that sets your device to appear as if it's in the right country, allowing you to watch any Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream from anywhere in the world.

We rate ExpressVPN as the best VPN for the Champions League. It offers a 30-day guarantee for all your money back if you're not happy with the service.

How to use a VPN for Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For Real Madrid vs Manchester City in the Champions League, you may wish to choose 'Ireland' for the free stream on RTE Player.

3. Then head over to RTE Player on your browser or device and enjoy the free Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream!

US: watch Real Madrid vs Manchester City

Football fans in the US can watch a Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream and every UEFA Champions League and Europa League fixture this season on Paramount+, from the group stages to the final.

You can get a 7-day free trial of Paramount+ here by signing up today. After the trial ends, you'll pay just $5 a month ($10 a month if you want the ad-free plan).

The Paramount+ free trial is only available with the US. Travelling overseas?

Use a VPN to watch Paramount+ from abroad without being blocked.

Can I watch Real Madrid vs Manchester City in the UK?

Rights to show Real Madrid vs Manchester City and all UEFA club competitions in the UK belong to BT Sport, whose long-term deal means you'll also be able to watch all of the Europa League games. You can get BT Sport through BT TV, Sky TV and Virgin Media as well as through the BT Sport website and apps. Real Madrid vs Manchester City will be on BT Sport 1 in HD and BT Sport Ultimate in 4K.

Don't want to be locked into a contract? You can also opt for a BT Sport Monthly Pass, which costs £30 per month. It's a rolling one-month contract and you can cancel anytime. The pass lets you stream all four BT Sport channels across iOS and Android devices, games consoles, Now TV set-top boxes, Roku players, and Amazon Fire TV devices.

More top-flight soccer: Premier League live stream

Australia: watch Real Madrid vs Man City live stream

If you're in Australia, local streaming service Stan Sport provides live coverage of the Real Madrid vs Manchester City live stream and all other UEFA club competition games.

To begin with, there's a Stan 30-day free trial. After that, you choose your base package and the necessary sport add-on costs AU$10 a month on top (so, from $20 a month in total).

Stuck outside Oz at the moment? Don't forget that you can use a VPN to access a live stream without being blocked.