There are so many ways to lose to the great Real Madrid team of this Champions League era, although this one delivered by Jude Bellingham in the 92nd minute of the game was extraordinary even by the standards of Carlo Ancelotti’s players.
The Englishman in the European champions emerged from a quiet first half to finish the last major attack and win the game for Madrid, who led this match for all of about a minute – but it just happened to be the last minute. Next Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu in the second leg, it is Real who will be favourites to reach the last 16 of the competition and they did so having prevailed in an epic first leg of this play-off. Twice Manchester City led and then, in the last six minutes of the game, so the sheer weight of attacking talent was brought to bear on Pep Guardiola’s side.
They could not live with the quality of Real. That Erling Haaland had dragged City to the 86th minute with a 2-1 lead was tribute to the endurance of this side and the finishing of their great striker. But Real still had many tricks to pull. Their first equaliser had come from Kylian Mbappé. Their second was from the former City academy man Brahim Díaz, the 25-year-old Malaga born Morocco international, who left City six years ago last month. His finish brought Real level and then Bellingham ran in the winner.
It was no less than Real deserved. They made City look very ordinary at times and the second and third goals both included defensive lapses. For the winner, Vinicius Junior, the game’s outstanding attacker in a very crowded field, ran through, lifted the ball over Ederson and Bellingham did the rest. When City beat Real in May 2023 to reach the final it looked like the end of an era for the Spanish club. Since then they have proved otherwise.
A brilliant first half – dense in incidents and moments of skill yet, also engagingly reckless from both teams. City tried to set up with the midfield overloaded and the customary dominance of possession. Real were at their best turning over the ball and attacking at lightning speed. City had the presence of Haaland, a shadow over everything the Real defence did. The defending champions had the speed of the interchanges between Mbappé, Vinicius and Rodrygo. They had nine attempts on the City goal in the first half and still ended it a goal behind.
The half finished with Mbappé in the left channel cutting under the ball with his right foot and a clear sight of goal, lifting his shot well over the bar. It had been a glorious chance and yet there were many of those for this Real front three. The two Brazilians were the best attackers for Real, so unpredictable and fleet of foot when allowed to run with the ball. They were a joy to watch. Vinicius was booed from the start, his refusal to attend the Ballon D’Or ceremony last year noted in a giant banner adorned with a picture of the winner Rodri kissing the trophy. The cameras cut to the stands where Rodri himself appeared to be capturing the moment on his phone. “Stop crying your heart out” the banner announced to the travelling Real contingent. That was the preamble. The game was a sensation.
Guardiola picked a defender in midfield. Ancelotti had to play a midfielder in defence. Such are the injuries to key figures in their respective squads. John Stones took to central midfield without any discernible problem. Aurélien Tchouameni dropped into defence for Real. Guardiola’s defenders proved true his pre-match observation that it was impossible to keep this real attack under lock. Ruben Dias was left behind by Vinicius’ brilliant turn on 11 minutes. Rodrygo rushed into Nathan Ake to take the second ball off the City defender and accelerate away on 41 minutes.
For all that City did have good periods, and their goal came during one such moment. Josko Gvardiol moved into midfield in possession and it was his effort that won the ball for Jack Grealish and set the Englishman off down the left. It was Gvardiol who then got into the box and nudged the chip from Grealish into the path of Haaland. His finish with the inside of his left boot was nicely done. An interminable wait for the VAR to decide that the goal stood. The final analysis decided only Haaland’s right wrist was offside when he received the ball.
Grealish would come off soon after, injured in a challenge on the wing and replaced by Phil Foden whose place he had taken in the line-up. A frustration for Grealish who has waited a long time to start a game of this importance. Manuel Akanji scraped the bar with a header from a corner and City looked good on set-pieces. Real looked good everywhere else. Vinicius struck the bar. Fedrico Valverde shot just over. Mbappé should have scored with that shot in the third minute of time added on at the end of the half.
Mbappé would eventually get the equaliser, a shot so significantly miscued that the connection with his ankle sent it in a trajectory that gave Ederson no chance. The Brazilian goalkeeper made some excellent saves but there was nothing he could do about this one. The ball had been from Dani Ceballos, who had drawn Bernardo Silva into the foul for the free-kick that started the phase of play. That was the strangeness of this Real team – for all its young attacking talent there was also a place for the 28-year-old one-time Arsenal loanee.
In the minutes that followed it felt like Real might finish off the challenge of City. Akanji had been replaced at half-time, injured it seemed, and later Nathan Ake would follow him. It meant Stones went back into defence where he could not affect the game as much. The full-backs Rico Lewis and Gvardiol were given a frightful time of it. Valverde slammed a shot just wide after Mbappe had flown down the left. Ederson somehow stopped Bellingham’s shot from close range.
Yet this time it was City who held on. Ceballos caught Foden on the edge of the box on 77 minutes and from the penalty spot Haaland was the man for the big occasion. Against the best goalkeeper in the world he never looked like missing. But the equaliser from Brahim Diaz was not far away and then came Bellingham’s winner.
10:42 PM GMT
Carlo Ancelotti signs off
At the end of the day, the victory is deserved but it’s only the first half of the knockout. [I liked] our character and our intensity We had a good block defensively. They are still a really good team, perhaps they don’t have confidence right now but they played a very good game.
I think it was a penalty. He is one of the best referees.
Jude played a fantastic game, he’s always dangerous. It was a top game for him.
We have to stay calm, it’s only the first half. We have to prepare well for the Bernabéu, we respect them.
10:33 PM GMT
And finally, here’s Pep Guardiola
Now it has happened many times this season. The quality of Real Madrid – they started very well but after the first 10 minutes we took the game. In the second-half we tried to attack too quick and when that happens and you are not precise, they are quicker. And after, yeah, what happened... it was not the best performance we’ve had like the past three seasons, they are an exceptional team but it’s happened many times that we gave away what we had.
It’s happened many times. [Is it psychological?] Just bad decisions, that’s all. Everyone has to take accountability, everyone, not you and me, everyone.
Of course now it’s tough, but we will recover, we go to Newcastle then the Bernabéu and think about the game but obviously we go to score goals.
10:26 PM GMT
John Stones speaks to Amazon Prime Video
A few games after the Arsenal one, I don’t know how to put it into words. it’s s raw and frustrating. We’re right in the game until late on. Two situations happen and we end up conceding. Angry and frustrated is what I can say. I haven’t got the answer [if it’s poor game management or not]. We need to see games out better. We need to take accountability for what we do on the pitch as the manager just said. We had a great opportunity to go to the Bernabéu 2-1 up maybe and now we need a goal to get level.
It’s not done. We have to stay positive and as the manager says, take a look at ourselves and hold ourselves accountable. I’ll hold my hand up.
10:20 PM GMT
The player ratings
10:18 PM GMT
Wayne Rooney’s thoughts
I think there was a lot of naivety from Manchester City, especially late on in the game. But also early on you could see Madrid were going to get chances. For me, I think the Manchester City players over the last few years we’ve seen a belief and confidence that whatever game they’re in they are going to go and win the game. I think the players tonight were looking round and looking at each other almost with a lack of belief in each other and I think that’s a worry for Guardiola.
[On City being exposed on the right side of their defence]. Kyle Walker’s the captain of the football club. To allow him to go out on loan is really strange.
10:16 PM GMT
Listen: Oliver Brown’s verdict
10:16 PM GMT
Jude Bellingham speaks to Amazon Prime Video
It was a bit of a weird one. I don’t care what form City are in, they’re an unbelievable;e team. In the end we managed to score one of the many chances we made It seems like there’s up and downs, not just a technical and tactical battle but a psychological one as well. Our game management [was good]. I kept running on the off chance that Vini put it wide which doesn’t happen very often.
I felt we played well, the message was to each other that we were creating chances but not taking them. Two of the four defenders were midfielders and playing against one of the best nines in the business. Credit to all four of them. I’m really proud of them.
10:05 PM GMT
Alan Shearer on the capitulation
I’ve said there’s been so many positive things from Manchester City tonight, but they’ve just gone and thrown it all away in the last five minutes or so. They had this game. Just completely given it away. You can’t give chances like that away, with the quality they’ve got up front. They’ve missed chances tonight but they’re not going to miss that one. Bellingham does really well in following it up.”
The agony on Pep’s face when he goes to sit back down in the dugout, you can see it. And rightly so. Goodness knows what he’s thinking.
10:00 PM GMT
Verdict: Real Madrid deserved that
They certainly know how to hit City where it hurts do Real Madrid. Two goals in the last six minutes of this thrilling game have turned the tie on its head. There have been times in the past where the 15-time European champions doing this kind of thing to City has been of the smash and grab kind but Real were very good here and deserved their win. Vincius, especially, Mbappé and Rodrygo were a handful throughout and Jude Bellingham really came alive in the second half. City have a big job on their hands in the Bernabéu next week.
09:58 PM GMT
Mocking Vinicius bites them hard
He set up the last two goals.
09:56 PM GMT
Full time: Man City 2 Real Madrid 3
Two-one up with four minutes to go, City crumble and Real Madrid smash and grab a victory in a spirit of deja vu for anyone who watched the Feyenoord game.
09:52 PM GMT
GOAL!
Man City 2 Real Madrid 3 (Bellingham) City have chucked it away. Kovacic hooks a lazy pass at Lewis who miscontrols it and Vinicius nicks it off him and sprints forward, through on Ederson who races out of his goal and Vinicius tries to lob it in. He doesn’t score but the ball clears the keeper, drifts to the right and Bellingham stabs it into an empty net with the last meaningful kick of the game.
09:47 PM GMT
GOAL!
Man City 2 Real Madrid 2 (Diaz) Ederson went for one of those sidewinder low flat punts up the right wing but he fires it straight at Bellingham who shifts it to Vinicius, now on the right, and he darts into the box to hammer a shot that Ederson can only parry straight to the former City forward Brahim Diaz to bury the rebound.
09:46 PM GMT
85 min: Man City 2 Real Madrid 1
Another good tackle from Lewis to thwart Vinicius as he dribbled into the box. Carlo Ancelotti’s eyebrow goes skywards.
09:45 PM GMT
83 min: Man City 2 Real Madrid 1
Now City make some changes:
Marmoush → Savinho
Gundogan → De Bruyne.
Brahim Diaz → Rodrygo
09:44 PM GMT
81 min: Man City 2 Real Madrid 1
Ceballos has been hooked after that.
Modric → Ceballos.
Stones has had an impressive game. He moved into a more familiar centre back role when Ake went off on the hour and Kovacic was introduced. City actually missed Stones’ presence in midfield for a period after that. He was so calm and composed and really helped knit the play. Rodri’s absence has been huge for City this season but would it have been as keenly felt had Guardiola been able to call on Stones in central midfield throughout this campaign? Stones has had his own injury problems but he is so important to this City side.
09:40 PM GMT
GOAL!
Man City 2 Real Madrid 1 (Haaland) Sends the keeper the wrong way and slots it into the bottom left corner. It’s his 49th Champions League goal in 49 appearances.
It was a long wait to take the penalty while Foden received treatment but if Haaland had any nerves, he didn’t show them. Cool as you like from the spot.
09:39 PM GMT
Foden is in pain after knee-to-knee contact
Excellent technique to draw the foul there.
Penalty stands.
The foul on Foden was on the penalty area line. The line is part of the area and therefore it was the correct decision to award a penalty kick.
However, I am amazed, given that the Semi Automated Offside System is in operation, that it took over four minutes to determine that Haaland was behind the ball when it was knocked forward for him to score his first goal.
The length of delay places doubt in whether the system was in fact operating efficiently. It was a very tight call and the scorer has been given the benefit of any doubt.
09:38 PM GMT
City penalty!? Will be checked
But I think it will stand as it seems to be on the line when Ceballos sticks out a leg as a hurdle and knees the side of Foden’s knee which would have hurt.
09:36 PM GMT
75 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 1
Haaland slaps Asencio’s arm down as the centre-back tried to cling on to his shirt. The referee stops play to deliver a stern telling off.
09:35 PM GMT
73 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 1
Valverde puts his arm into the small of Savinho’s back and concedes a free-kick.
The staggering athleticism of Real Madrid’s attack is beginning to tell. Ever since Stones has moved back into defence, Vinicius and Mbappé have run City ragged. But probably the best chance falls to Bellingham, whose first-time shot from Valverde’s cross is superbly saved by Ederson. Real are in ravenous mood, as if sensing that they should be out of sight by now.
09:32 PM GMT
71 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 1
Bernardo hugs the right touchline and slips a left-foot pass down the inside for the underlapping Lewis who picks up his head and fires a cross that was far too hot for Haaland to control. It was as if he was looking for a ricochet rather than an assist.
09:31 PM GMT
69 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 1
‘Could go either way,’ says Shearer. Real are looking more likely at the moment. Though here come City now, Lewis stepping into midfield and moving ahead of Kovacic as City stroke it around.
09:29 PM GMT
67 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 1
Mbappé races through behind Lewis now, obviously offside but is allowed to take his shot which clips the outside of the right post before the linesman raises his flag.
09:28 PM GMT
65 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 1
Anyone else having problems with Amazon Prime Video’s stream seeming to lag while the commentary goes at normal speed?
Bellingham gets in behind Lewis on the left of the 18-yard line to gobble up Rodrygo’s cross but his shot is well saved by Ederson with his legs.
09:26 PM GMT
63 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 1
Kovacic → Ake. Stones goes to centre-back but there’s nothing he can do to stop Rodrygo bustling inside off the right to rake a right foot shot across goal and past the far post by no more than a foot.
09:20 PM GMT
GOAL!
Man City 1 Real Madrid 1 (Mbappé) Ceballos pumps the free-kick into the wall and it bounces back to him so he lobs it over the 18 yard line and Mbappé runs through, shapes to scissor volley it but shins it instead and it loops into the right of goal almost in slow motion.
09:20 PM GMT
59 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Real Madrid free-kick 25 yards out for a Bernardo foul. Right of centre. Rodrygo, Valverde and Ceballos stand over it. Bernardo plays the draught excluder.
09:19 PM GMT
57 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Great tackle by Gavardiok to lunge and hook his heel on top of the ball with Mbappé in full flight and then Lewis makes an equally fine one to dispossess Vinicius as he dribbled down the left of the box, skittering rather than sprinting. Refusing to be dazzled, Lewis watched the ball and nipped it away before he could shoot.
09:16 PM GMT
54 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Ederson saves Mbappé’s driven, low half-volley low at the left post from Rodrygo’s cross as City invite more pressure than Guardiola is comfortable with. No wonder Kovacic is warming up. They’re too open in midfield.
09:14 PM GMT
52 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
One-nil doesn’t look enough and now Real create a very good chance when Vinicius burns down the outside of Lewis and stands up a cross that Bellingham, 12 yards out, leaps to meet and twists his neck on impact to try to power it into the bottom right corner but bends it too far and steers it past the post.
09:12 PM GMT
50 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
City shift the ball from their box to to Real Madrid’s with some sharp passing between De Bruyne, Foden and Gvardiol who takes on a shot from 20 yards that hits an orange-socked leg and goes behind for a corner that Real Madrid defend well.
09:10 PM GMT
48 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Gvardiol turns away from Rodrygo as if he wasn’t there and gallops off upfield. Like I said earlier. A touch of the old swagger is back.
09:08 PM GMT
46 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
De Bruyne, rolling back the years, takes the ball from Foden who turned in the corner quadrant, and dinks a right-foot pass to Haaland. The centre-forward cushions it with his left then tacks left across the box to try to find a cranny to shoot through and when he does he hammers a deflected shot on to the bar.
09:05 PM GMT
Akanji is injured
He seemed to have twanged his groin when stretching to block Vinicius’ shot/cross:
Lewis → Akanji
08:53 PM GMT
Half-time verdict
Very enjoyable, entertaining half as you’d expect. Real have had more than enough chances to score a couple but it’s City who take a 1-0 lead into the interval. Mbappé should have scored late in the first period but blazed over. Vinicius is a menace and a real problem for City and Rodrygo a threat on the opposite flank. City had Real rattled for a period, scored through Haaland, had other chances and Akanji hit the top of the bar with a header from a corner. City have looked dangerous from set pieces.
08:53 PM GMT
Half-time: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Real Madrid were very good for about half of the first 20 minutes and then for the last five plus stoppage time but City have been terrific inbetween. A touch of the old swagger as well as some poise and precision in their passing. Taunting Vinicius seems hubristic to me, a hostage to fortune.
08:49 PM GMT
45+3 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Back come Real Madrid and tee up Mbappé almost in his optimal position on the right of the box to do one of his Thierry Henry specials into the top right corner but he gets under it and it flies high and wide.
08:48 PM GMT
45+2 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Real Madrid corner after Mbappé‘s right-foot shot from the left of the D hits Ake’s shot and spins loopily juts wide as Ederson scrambled across his goal-line. City see off the corner.
08:47 PM GMT
45 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Mbappe stretches to dink a pass out to Rodrygo who feeds Vinicius and the winger scampers down the left and whips over a cross that flashes through the box, about eight yards from goal. Mbappé loitering by the 18-yard line, had not bought a ticket.
There will be four minutes of stoppage time, all for the VAR delay.
08:44 PM GMT
43 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Better from Real Madrid as from the breakdown following the corner, Valverde cuts in off the right to thunder a shot which he is adamant Ederson tipped over but if he did, it was a fingernail at best as the referee signals a goalkick much to his displeasure.
08:43 PM GMT
41 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Rodrygo dispossesses a dawdling Ake and steams towards the box but messes up the pass to Vinicius, forcing him ever wider and he can’t squeeze a cross or a shot past Akanji’s brave block.
08:41 PM GMT
39 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Grealish looked like he hurt himself when challenged on the byline earlier in the half from which he won a corner. He got up gingerly and was hobbling a bit. Real on the ropes a little here now after that earlier flurry when they should have scored. Foden has made an immediate impact and at the moment Real are being dragged around by City’s quick movement.
08:39 PM GMT
37 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
All City now and Bernardo makes good progress down the inside left but instead of shooting taps it down the outside to Haaland who lamps a shot with his left that Valverde slides in to block and put behind.
De Bruyne takes the corner with vicious swerve and dip. Akanji goes up but mistimes it and it hits him more on the neck and top of his back and goes out for a goalkick via the top of the bar.
Real seem to be panicking somewhat after their stylish start. First everything seems to open up for Haaland’s second, only for Valverde to provide the sliding last-ditch clearance, then Akanji skims a header from De Bruyne’s tantalising near-post corner off the bar. Guardiola sinks back into his seat in agony, conscious that City could need a minimum two-goal lead to protect at the Bernabeu. How much will they regret not capitalising on this spell of dominance?
08:37 PM GMT
34 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Smart save by Courtois from a Foden shot as he does one of his special moves in from the right to bend it with his left. He has been very lively. A minute before he had dazzled Mendy with a shimmy and a pass to put De Bruyne in behind to cross low but Asensio read it and booted it clear before Bernardo could pounce.
08:35 PM GMT
32 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Foden immediately takes up a position on the right wing and Savinho comes over to the left.
08:31 PM GMT
29 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Grealish has a muscle problem that Alan Shearer blames on the wait for VAR, saying elite athletes shouldn’t be made to wait for four minutes in the bitter cold when all warmed up and sweating.
Foden → Grealish
08:29 PM GMT
27 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
Vinicius cuts inside from the left, shapes to cross and hammers a shot into the meat of the bar via a deflection off Akanji.
08:28 PM GMT
25 min: Man City 1 Real Madrid 0
The long delay was a result of semi-automated not being able to be used because it can’t draw a line through the ball, I think, if I understood what Mark Clattenberg was saying.
City’s dander is up and Dias rakes a pas with the outside of his boot up the inside right channel for De Bruyne to take in his stride into the box, Just as he was about to pull the trigger young Asensio times a sliding tackle to perfection to knock it behind as the crowd bellows unjustly for a penalty.
There were boos and jeers as the VAR took an age to make a decision – Vinicius booted the ball back to Courtois from the centre spot in anticipation of Haaland goal’s being chalked off – but huge cheers erupt around the Etihad when Turpin signals the goal stands.
08:22 PM GMT
GOAL!
Man City 1 Real Madrid 0 (Haaland) Wonderful move. Gvardiol spins 10 yards inside his own vox to knock a pass up to Haaland who traps it and knocks it back to Grealish. The winger chips a pass into the box to Gvardiol, who, as he always does, had continued his run and he traps it on his chest and Haaland hooks it in with a left-foot volley across Courtois.
The curse is lifted. It had been among the game’s most remarkable anomalies, the fact that Erling Haaland had contrived not to score against Real Madrid in four attempts. But he atones in memorable fashion here, profiting from Jack Grealish’s nudge through to Josko Gvardiol, who chests it down beautifully for him to scoop the ball beyond Thibaut Courtois. It required an agonisingly long wait for VAR to confirm the goal stood, but the Norwegian’s duck is officially over.
08:22 PM GMT
Nearly four minutes now
Taking ages to work this one out.
08:21 PM GMT
VAR check
Very tight on whether Haaland was behind the ball when played in by Gvardiol’s chest pass.
08:18 PM GMT
GOAL!?
Man City 1 Real Madrid 0 (Haaland) Breaks his duck against Real Madrid.
08:17 PM GMT
16 min: Man City 0 Real Madrid 0
Savinho dips his shoulder, feints and burns past Ceballos but then fires his cros straight at Asencio. Eternal, infernal winger’s disease: Everything but the cross.
08:15 PM GMT
14 min: Man City 0 Real Madrid 0
Oh man! Over-elaboration from Real Madrid when they open up City’s defence with a scalpel of a move between Vinicius and Mendy who, having rounded Ederson, plays after you, Claud with one pass too many and the delayed shot is blocked on the line by Ake when it eventually comes.
08:12 PM GMT
12 min: Man City 0 Real Madrid 0
Real are all over City now and a lovely bit of skill from Vinicius to nutmeg Dias and send Mbappe into the box with an outside of the boot pass between Gvardiol and Ake to fire a shot across goal, looking for the bottom corner that Ederson saves well.
08:11 PM GMT
10 min: Man City 0 Real Madrid 0
City fans aren’t going to give Vinicius an easy night from the sounds of it. A big cheer erupts when the Real forward - overlooked for the Ballon d’Or for Rodri to widespread Real anger - misplaced a pass in the fourth minute. And another big cheer goes up when he slides in and misses an interception seconds later.
Even more so now after Vinicius runs through on Ederson, knocks it round the keeper and buys a ‘penalty’ when he trips over his arm. There’s a gasp and then up goes the flag to a great roar.
08:08 PM GMT
7 min: Man City 0 Real Madrid 0
Real Madrid are starting to enjoy more possession now with Bellingham and Ceballos to the fore. When they play it up to Mbappé, Dias cleans holds him off with a very strong right arm. The centre-forward snaps a lace when Dias treads on it and he has to improvise a knot until a new boot is brought on.
08:05 PM GMT
5 min: Man City 0 Real Madrid 0
Raining quite heavily now as Ake and Dias compete for the inswinging corner that Tchouameni ultimately heads away. Back come City after Vinicius loses the ball with a blind pass infield picked off by Stones. De Bruyne now ghosts into space on the right but Mendy forces him and the ball behind for a goal-kick.
It is worth pointing out that Rodri himself seemed to be taking a picture of the banner of him with the Ballon d’Or and the words “STOP CRYING YOUR HEART OUT” - directed at the Real Madrid players and fans. City fans now singing ‘Where’s your Ballon D’Or? to Vinicius Junior.
08:03 PM GMT
3 min: Man City 0 Real Madrid 0
Grealish takes the ball on his instep and then accelerates up the left and is sandwiched by Valverde and Camavinga. Free-kick parallel with the 18-yard line.
De Bruyne to take. He whips it in looking for Haaland but Valverde eases across him to head it behind for a corner.
08:01 PM GMT
1 min: Man City 0 Real Madrid 0
City attack up the left with Grealish just inside his own half, picking his head up and looking for a long ball over the top for Haaland but Tchouameni is there first to head it away. City attacking from right to left.
07:59 PM GMT
City fans mock Real Madrid over Ballon d’Or no show
Manchester City supporters risked angering Real Madrid by unfurling a banner ridiculing their Ballon D’Or snub ahead of the blockbuster Champions League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
City fans’ group “We Are 1894” had announced pre-match they would display the “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” tifo showing Rodri kissing the trophy he won last October, to the anger of Real.
Real did not send representatives to the Ballon D’Or ceremony in Paris four months ago when it emerged on the day of the presentation that City midfielder Rodri had won ahead of Vinicius Jr, while Jude Bellingham came third in the prestigious competition for the world’s best player of the year.
Referencing an Oasis song, the banner was unfurled just before kick-off of the Champions League play-off where the two great European rivals faced each other to reach the last-16 of the competition.
Real manager Carlo Ancelotti had earlier defended his club’s decision to boycott the ceremony. “I don’t think it was the wrong decision,” said the Italian. “We thought Vini was the winner of the Ballon D’Or. It doesn’t mean we don’t respect Rodri because he is a fantastic player. I think Rodri deserved to win it the year before.”
Rodri had been a key player in City’s treble win in 2022-23, then won the European Championship with Spain last summer. City manager Pep Guardiola said there was “absolutely not” any resentment at his club over the incident.
“I was happy for Rodri but Vinicius made an extraordinary year as well,” Guardiola said. “He could deserve it, like in the past when [Lionel] Messi and Cristiano [Ronaldo] were fighting for it. So, the subject is over.”
Rodri has been injured since early in the season when he suffered an anterior-cruciate ligament tear, but Vinicius was named in Real’s starting XI at the Etihad.
07:57 PM GMT
Out come the teams
Carlo is immaculate in black suit, white shirt, black tie, channelling Bruce Foxton circa 1977. Pep is smart-casual, hoolie chic, as per.
07:51 PM GMT
He’s alright, Jack
It’s a big call by Guardiola to start Grealish. He hasn’t started a game of note for City since Dec 21 and has made just four starts in the Champions League or Premier League since early October. Explaining his decision, Guardiola said: “There are players that give you something for specific games. I saw training and in many things and that’s why I decided.” Phil Foden drops out while Savinho, who has often looked more effective off the left, reverts to his usual position on the right.
07:46 PM GMT
Not long now
Ce sont les meilleures équipes
Sie sind die allerbesten Mannschaften
The main event
Die Meister
Die Besten
Les grandes équipes
The champions
07:42 PM GMT
Alex Aljoe’s lingusitic skills to the fore again
07:40 PM GMT
Ruben Dias speaks to Amazon Prime Video
I think we can call it a classic. It’s what everyone wants to see. The Treble season [is my stand-out moment]. Every season can surprise us and that’s the biggest beauty in football. If you can make something beautiful out of struggle, it makes you more ready and experienced. The more you’ve been through, the more ready you are to stick together. Stick together through suffering and you achieve greatness. You keep your head down and keep working. City’s DNA is belief when everyone questions us, everyone doubts us. Everyone thinks we’re slowing down, we have to go through that, only by going through that can we show who we really are.
07:24 PM GMT
City fans’ group corrals fans to support its ‘mocking’ banner
We're announcing tonight's display early so fans can get in to hold it up. Lights out/ laser show from 7.50. PA off for 90 secs then we drop this beauty down at 7.55 over 115/116 pls keep it place until after CL anthem so the whole world sees it. Big Steve had the idea! pic.twitter.com/HUc6nQO7mH
— 1894 (@WeAre1894) February 11, 2025
07:17 PM GMT
Some pre-match thoughts from Pep
We’re so excited and happy to be here, to live this experience again. They’re an exceptional team and we need to perform at our best.
[On Real’s injury crisis] It’s what we’ve had all season! I understand completely what he means.
[On the threat of Mbappé, Vinicius and Rodrygo] Listen, since I was born in a little town in Catalonia, my country, Real Madrid have always had unbelievable forwards: Cristiano, Bale, Di María, Butragueño, Higuaín, Arjen Robben. That’s why they’re always up there.
We’ve had a tough season. But in life and in football you always to have to look forward. We still have three or four months ahead of us. What’s happened has happened. Look forward, look ahead. That’s what we’re going to do tonight.
07:01 PM GMT
For UK viewers
Tonight’s match is on Amazon Prime Video, hosted by Gabby Logan with Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Clarence Seedorf, Alan Shearer and Gael Clichy.
Sadly for them they’ve teed up a long interview with Phil Foden. Ben Foster takes him fishing for a chat ... but he’s on the bench tonight.
06:57 PM GMT
Your teams in black and white
Manchester City Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Stones; Bernardo, De Bruyne; Savinho, Haaland, Grealish.
Substitutes Ortega, Marmoush, Kovacic, Doku, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Nunes, Khusanov, Foden, O’Reilly, Lewis, McAtee.
Real Madrid Courtois; Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy; Ceballos, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.
Substitutes Lunin, Modric, Arda Guler, Endrick, Vallejo, Fran Garcia, Brahim, Gonzalo, Jacobo, Chema, Lorenzo Aguado.
Referee Clement Turpin (France)
06:51 PM GMT
City team news
Your City team to face Real Madrid ????
XI | Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Stones, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Savinho, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Marmoush, Kovacic, Doku, Nico, Gundogan, Nunes, Khusanov, Foden, O'Reilly, Lewis, McAtee#ManCity | #UCL pic.twitter.com/HW42T8fGAF
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 11, 2025
06:49 PM GMT
Seizing a late chance
Dani Ceballos was loaned to Arsenal for two seasons and has been the sixth-choice for the two central midfield berths for the last three. But injuries forced Carlo Ancelotti’s hand in November and he has been playing so well that he is on the verge of an international recall.
06:42 PM GMT
High stakes
Sergio Agüero’s prediction: “Real Madrid can’t beat City, if they beat City I’ll cut off my testicles.”
06:32 PM GMT
Real Madrid as is their wont, went very early with their team news
Valverde drops back to right-back, Camavinga comes into his place in midfield:
05:49 PM GMT
Two titans who want to burn football’s house down
Real Madrid and Manchester City had an ally in common for a few years at least in the previous decade: the giant Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, which signed a €400 million (£333 million) deal to finance the first Bernabéu Stadium renovation before both parties fell out in spectacular fashion.
It was 11 years ago when the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), part of Mubadala, agreed to finance the first attempt to rebuild the Bernabéu. Mubadala is chaired by Sheikh Mansour, the City owner, and its chief executive is another familiar face, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the chairman of City Football Group. The fallout from the collapse of that deal went all the way to a Paris courtroom in 2023, when Mubadala prevailed. It successfully argued that, with works delayed and plans redrawn, Real had failed to fulfil the conditions of its original contract.
They meet one another in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 play-off tie on Tuesday, the guaranteed early elimination of one of Europe’s big guns exactly what Uefa did not want with its new format. That said, these feel like the biggest two games of the season so far – a delicious rerun of the great European Cup when the jeopardy of an early knockout was ever present. How different the clubs’ relationship might have been had Real renovated the Bernabéu with Abu Dhabi money and arrived at the Etihad this week with IPIC on their shirts and a massive commercial deal with one of the super-rich Middle East micro-states.
05:30 PM GMT
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05:28 PM GMT
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05:24 PM GMT
Preview: Wounded giants
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the first leg of the Champions League play-off match between Manchester City, winners in 2023, and Real Madrid, champions of Europe in 2024, 2022, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1966, 1960, 1959, 1958, 1957 and 1956. Tonight’s match is their fourth meeting in four seasons in the knockout stages and sixth overall since 2012 and City are yet to be beaten at home, having won three and drawn three. And although their group stage struggles left them in an unseeded play-off spot in the new Swiss-model 36-team league, they were unbeaten at home in this competition this season, too, winning two and drawing with Inter and Feyenoord.
In ordinary circumstances one would be raving about Erling Haaland vs Kylian Mbappé but these are not normal circs for these sides. Real Madrid are top of La Liga by one point from Atlético with whom they drew 1-1 in the weekend’s derby when their team captain, Lucas Vazquez, a winger who has been moonlighting so long as a full-back that it is fair to say that the injury he sustained that has confined him to barracks has deepened Real’s defensive crisis. He joins Antonio Rudiger Eder Militao, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal in the long-term convalescence unit and leaves Carlo Ancelotti having to scrabble around with midfielders, left-backs and recent Castilla graduates to fill the gaps.
In recent weeks he has used midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni as a centre-half alongside young Raul Asencio and will probably stick with that combo today but will have to improvise on the right by either using Fede Valverde there or one of Jacobo Ramón, Diego Aguado, Lorenzo Aguado or Ferland Mendy given Jesús Vallejo, who despite having four La Liga winners’ medals and five in this competition has played merely 32 times in 10 seasons as a Real Madrid player. Vallejo is Clearly Plan Z... at best.
As for City, Rodri, whose Ballon d’Or win was pooh-poohed by Real Madrid’s gripes that Vinicius had been robbed, is the only definite absentee and some City fans are going to celebrate his award tonight in tifo-form as a kind of Iberian slap to Real. Ederson, Nathan Ake and Jérémy Doku, who sat out the trip to Orient, and new signing Nico González, who limped off after 22 minutes on his debut at Brisbane Road, will all have late fitness tests.
One thing to watch which may have a bearing on next Wednesday’s return at the Bernabéu if not tonight is that Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric and Tchouaméni are one booking away from a ban. For City the yellow Sword of Damocles hangs above only Ruben Dias’s head.
