Real Madrid, holding the title, overthrew Manchester City (3-2) in a spectacular end of the match on Tuesday in the Champions League Faucy, an exciting outcome before the return match next week in Spain.
The club with fifteen European titles is decidedly the king of stunning, exciting and unexpected scenarios!
On Tuesday, he came out the magic box in the last minutes of a boxing poster, thanks to Brahim Diaz (86th, 2-2) and Jude Bellingham (90th+2, 2-3), front scorers Gong.
Manchester City, the 2023 European champion, is definitely not completely recovered from his catastrophic fall, nor its repeated defensive errors.
The English will nevertheless have a second chance, on February 19 at the Bernabeu, to avoid Pep Guardiola to go to the hatch before the direct elimination phase, a disappointment that he has never known in all his coach career.
His Manchester City was still scuttered at the end of the match, as against Feyenoord earlier in the competition, when he had let an advantage of three goals spin …
Already in the first quarter of an hour, the « Citizens » underwent the Madrid waves without managing to impose their game. But they managed to resist.
Vinicius would have obtained a penalty without an offside position (10th), Kylian Mbappé lost a first duel against Ederson (11th) and Nathan Aké played the Savior on a Ferland Mendy (12th) shot.
Real paid dearly for these spoiled opportunities and was punished by the imbalance of its collective, too leaning towards the attack and too fragile in the back, in the absence of the tauliers Dani Carvajal and Antonio Rüdiger, injured.
Manchester City took advantage of it on its first real foray.
Josko Gvardiol, already at the start of the action, found himself in the surface to receive from the chest a pretty balloon from Jack Grenish, and transform it into an offering for Erling Haaland (19th, 1-0).
The Norwegian striker shot Thibaut courteous near to finally score his first goal against Real, at the end of the fifth confrontation.
“Nothing is played”
Erling Haaland opens the scoring for Manchester City against Real Madrid, in the Champions League goals, February 11, 2025 at Etihad Stadium / Oli Scarff / AFP
The goal tap could have flowed in waves but the transverse bar saved the Belgian goalkeeper on a deflected Haaland shot (46th) and a head of Manuel Akanji (37th). That of Ederson pushed a vinicius shot (25th).
Mbappé struggled on the front of the attack and his work as a undermin, after several unsuccessful attempts, ended up paying on a recovery which he nevertheless missed, and which entered as in slow motion in the goal of Ederson , surprised by the trajectory (60th, 1-1).
The Captain of the Blues fits at full speed in 2025 with ten goals to his credit. This brings his total to 24, all competitions combined, with the “Club of (his) dreams”which he joined this summer.
Unfortunately for him, a gross fault by Dani Ceballos on Phil Foden, at the entrance to the surface, allowed the Citizens to resume the advantage on a penalty, transformed by Haaland (80th, 2-1).
The visitors, however, managed to overthrow the match course, in the last minutes thanks to the former City Diaz player, then Bellingham.
“We came here to make a good result, we made a big game, all together. We started badly with this goal that we conceded but we remained calm ”commented the French midfielder from Real, Aurélien Tchouameni, on Canal Plus. “We had to take the opportunities they gave us, that’s what we did. Now there is a second match so we have to stay focused because nothing is played “.
(tagstotranslate) Manchester