Manchester City’s Champions League ambitions suffered a significant blow on Wednesday night as they succumbed to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid. The thrilling encounter at the Etihad Stadium saw City twice take the lead, only to be pegged back by the Spanish giants.
Erling Haaland’s brace had given City a 2-1 advantage, but Real Madrid’s relentless pressure eventually told as they scored two late goals to seal a dramatic victory. Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser had brought the visitors level before Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time winner sent the Real Madrid bench into raptures.
City defender John Stones was left to rue his team’s defensive lapses, which ultimately proved costly. “It’s a feeling of anger and frustration,” Stones said. “We need to see games out better. The manager said we need to take accountability for what we do on the pitch.”
Pep Guardiola’s side has now conceded 57 goals in 38 games in all competitions this season, a statistic that will concern the City boss. Guardiola himself was critical of his team’s decision-making, which he felt was lacking in key moments.
“We are not stable enough to handle the pressure,” Guardiola said. “Today was tight. I’m quite honest with myself; today we have chances and play quite good with the ball, but in the moments we should have the situation recovered, we could not manage it.”
Real Madrid’s victory was a testament to their never-say-die attitude, and they will now take a slender advantage into the second leg at the Bernabeu. Vinicius Junior, who had a standout game for the visitors, revealed that a banner displayed by City fans had motivated him to perform well.
The banner, which poked fun at Vinicius’s runners-up finish in the Ballon d’Or voting, seemed to backfire as the Brazilian winger played a key role in Real Madrid’s victory. “I saw it, I saw the banner,” Vinicius said. “Whenever the opposing fans do things like that, they give me more strength to have a great game.”
The defeat leaves City facing an uphill battle to progress to the next round, and they will need to produce a remarkable performance in the second leg to turn the tie around. As it stands, Real Madrid are in the driving seat, and City will need to regroup quickly if they are to have any chance of advancing.
The second leg of the tie takes place on February 19 at the Bernabeu, where City will need to produce a performance of a lifetime to overcome the deficit and progress to the next round.
