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The “Si se puede! (Yes we can!)” chants gradually faded at the Santiago Bernabéu as the minutes passed and Real Madrid looked beaten.

As the end of regulation approached, many in the stands — and on the field — were close to giving up as Manchester City defended its 1-0 lead.

It seemed that there would be no magical night at the Bernabéu for the 13-time European champions this time.

But Madrid took its Champions League comebacks to another level on Wednesday, rallying late with two goals in two minutes by substitute Rodrygo to force extra time and defeat Manchester City 3-1 to reach the final — a showdown with Liverpool, Associated Press reported.

Karim Benzema, the hero of Madrid’s previous comebacks this season, converted a penalty kick in extra time for the decisive goal that allowed Madrid to advance 6-5 on aggregate after a 4-3 first-leg semifinal loss in which it escaped losing by a bigger margin. 

“I didn’t think we could do it again because we were struggling,” Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “We had already eliminated some top teams that spent a lot of money to try to win a Champions, but today it was more impressive, happening in the final minutes.”

Madrid had already pulled off thrilling comebacks at the Bernabéu against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 and Chelsea in the quarterfinals.

“I cannot say we are used to living this kind of life, but what happened tonight happened against Chelsea and also against Paris,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “If you have to say why, it is the history of this club that helps us to keep going when it seems that we are gone.”

By doing it again against City, Madrid booked a spot in the May 28 final in Paris against Liverpool, which advanced after defeating Villarreal on Tuesday. Madrid defeated Liverpool in the 2018 final, when the Spanish powerhouse clinched its record-extending 13th title, according to the Associated Press.

“We have a score to settle,” Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah said on Twitter after Madrid’s win.

The result ended City’s latest quest for its first Champions League trophy. Pep Guardiola’s team lost in the final last year to Chelsea.

“We were close but at the end we could not reach (the final),” Guardiola said.

Madrid looked defeated near the end of regulation before Rodrygo scored his goals two minutes apart. Riyad Mahrez had put City ahead in the 73rd but the Brazilian forward equalized in the 90th and got the go-ahead goal with a header a minute into stoppage time.

A few minutes before Rodrygo’s first goal, Ferland Mendy had saved Madrid from conceding a second goal that could have sealed City’s qualification by clearing the ball in front off the goal line while tumbling backward to keep an attempt by Jack Grealish from going in.

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois moments later saved a Grealish shot with the bottom of his cleat.

Madrid carried all the momentum into extra time and Benzema gave the hosts the 3-1 lead by converting a 95th-minute penalty kick after he was fouled inside the area, Associated Press reported.

It was the 15th Champions League goal this season for Benzema, the competition’s leading scorer. It was his 10th goal in the knockout stage alone, tying Cristiano Ronaldo’s record in a single season.

Benzema had scored hat tricks when Madrid rallied against both PSG and Chelsea. Madrid came back against PSG after losing the first leg in Paris and conceding early in the second leg at the Bernabéu. Against Chelsea, Madrid won the first match 3-1 but was down 3-0 in the second leg before rallying in extra time, when Benzema again scored the deciding goal.

Wednesday’s game started tighter than last week’s back-and-forth first leg in Manchester, but City eventually opened the scoring when Mahrez found the top corner with a firm left-footed one-timer from inside the area following a pass by Bernardo Silva, who attracted the Madrid defenders before feeding the ball to his teammate, according to the Associated Press.

Mahrez had scored both of City’s goals in the second leg of last season’s semifinal against PSG. The Algerian became the first City player to scored seven times in a single Champions League campaign.

Madrid had scored 22 goals in its last eight games in all competitions but struggled to get past the City defense.

Benzema set up Rodrygo’s first goal from inside the area, and Marco Asensio flicked Dani Carvajal’s cross for the Brazilian’s stunning header in stoppage time.

Rodrygo had scored twice when Madrid clinched the Spanish league title in advance at the Bernabéu on Saturday, when celebrations went late into the evening with players and coach Carlo Ancelotti asking for the fans’ support against Man City.

Fans had already given players a spectacular welcome as the team’s bus arrived before the match on Wednesday, crowding the streets around the Bernabéu, Associated Press reported.

Punjab Kings became the second team to hand Gujarat Titans a loss when they defeated the Hardik Pandya-led side by 8 wickets on Tuesday. Shikhar Dhawantop-scored for the Kings with 62 runs, The Indian Express reported.

Earlier, Gujarat Titans were restricted to 143 for eight. Opting to bat, Sai Sudharsan top-scored for the Titans with an unbeaten 64 off 50 balls, after the team was struggling at 44 for three in the seventh over. Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada finished with excellent figures of 4/33 in four overs. 

Sandeep Sharmaconceded only 17 runs in his four overs, while Rishi Dhawan bagged a wicket for 26 runs in his full quota of four overs at the D Y Patil Stadium, according to The Indian Express.

Liverpool players stared at each other in disbelief. By the bench, manager Jürgen Klopp watched in awe.

Just like that, Liverpool had squandered its two-goal lead from the first leg of the Champions League semifinals against Villarreal, and its spot in the final was suddenly in jeopardy.

Would Liverpool be the latest powerhouse to be stunned by the modest Spanish club? Would its bid for a seventh European title end in disappointment?

Luckily for the English club, it was only a scare.

Liverpool rallied in the second half to defeat Villarreal 3-2 and reach its third Champions League final in five seasons on Tuesday. It advanced 5-2 on aggregate at the La Cerámica Stadium, Associated Press reported.

“You could see how impressed we were with them in the first half,” said Klopp, who will be making his fourth Champions League final appearance as coach, joint-most with Miguel Muñoz, Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi. “To come back and win in the second is really impressive.”

After Boulaye Dia and Francis Coquelin put Villarreal ahead by the 41st minute, Fabinho, substitute Luis Díaz and Sadio Mané scored in the second half to propel Liverpool into the final for the first time since winning its sixth European title in 2019. It will be Liverpool’s 10th final in Europe’s top club competition.

Based in a city of 50,000 people in southern Spain, Villarreal had eliminated Juventus in the round of 16 and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

Unai Emery’s team played a man down from the 86th after Étienne Capoue, who assisted on both Villarreal’s goals, was sent off with a second yellow card.

Liverpool will play the May 28 final in Paris against either Premier League rival Manchester City or 13-time European champion Real Madrid. They will meet on Wednesday in Madrid with City defending a 4-3 win from the first leg in England, according to the Associated Press.

The victory also keeps alive Liverpool’s hopes of a “ quadruple ” — winning all four major trophies in one season.

The visitors were dominant in the first leg but looked lost on Tuesday as Villarreal came out pressing early. The hosts won almost every 50-50 ball and stayed near the Liverpool area without giving up much space for counterattacks.

It didn’t take long for Villarreal to cut into the first-leg deficit as Dia opened the scoring from close range after a pass by Capoue in the third minute.

Villarreal wanted a penalty kick after Giovani Lo Celso collided with Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker, but a few moments later it got the second goal with a header by former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin into the top corner after a well-placed right-flank cross by Capoue.

The Liverpool defense looked flat-footed on both goals, leaving space for the Villarreal players to finish into the net.

The English club improved significantly in the second half. It nearly pulled closer when Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot deflected on a defender and hit the crossbar in the 55th, and it got the first goal came in the 62nd with a low shot by Fabinho that went through the legs of goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli, Associated Press reported.

Liverpool took advantage of Villarreal’s letdown and Díaz, who helped turn the game around after entering the match at halftime, equalized with a 67th-minute header. Mané got the go-ahead goal on a breakaway in the 74th after getting past Rulli outside the area and shooting into the open net.

With his goal, Mané became the top African scorer in the knockout stage in the Champions League era. He has 15, one more than Mohamed Salah and Didier Drogba.

“Their first goal hurt us a lot,” Villarreal defender Raúl Albiol said. “In the second half they were better than us. We couldn’t maintain the same rhythm than in the first half and that cost us.”

Liverpool has not been eliminated in the knockout rounds after winning the first leg since 2001-02. It has scored a club-record 139 goals in all competitions this season, according to the Associated Press.

Returning to the Champions League may be hard for Villarreal as it’s currently out of the qualification zone in the Spanish league. This was only the fourth appearance in Europe’s top club competition for the club. It had also made the semifinals in 2006, losing to Arsenal. It was a quarterfinalist in 2009, losing to Arsenal again.

The defeat also means there will be no first Champions League trophy for Emery, who had never made it past the round of 16 until now. He has four Europa League trophies on his career, including with Villarreal last season.

With Villarreal’s elimination, Shakhtar Donetsk is set to earn an automatic spot directly into the group stage next season. The berth was freed up because the winner this season will be either Liverpool, Madrid or City, who already qualified through their league’s position, according to the Associated Press.

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in a return leg IPL match on Monday, The Indian Express reported.

Invited to bat, skipper Sanju Samson smashed seven fours and a six in his 49-ball 54, while Shimron Hetmyer provided late charge with an unbeaten 13-ball 27 as RR scored 152 for five.

However, Jos Buttler (22), Riyan Parag (19) and Karun Nair (13) got starts but couldn’t capitalise.

Tim Southee (2/46) scalped two wickets, while Umesh Yadav(1/24), Anukul Roy (1/28) and Shivam Mavi (1/33) accounted for one each. Nitish Rana (48 not out), Rinku Singh (42 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (34) then chipped in with useful contributions as KKR romped home, scoring 158 for three in 19.1 overs, according to The Indian Express.