Manchester City beat Real Madrid 2:1 tonight at the Bernabéu, with O’Reilly scoring his first ever Champions League goal, and Haaland scoring yet another net-piercing penalty. It seems that Rodrygo ending his nine month long scoring drought, and opening the scoring for the game, wasn’t enough for the Los Blancos to keep up their winning streak against the Sky Blues.
Two European giants faced off for the fifth consecutive season tonight, both teams aiming for a top-eight spot in the league phase. This ‘Superclasico’ was also the first time Xabi Alonso faced Pep Guardiola, his old mentor, as the Real Madrid manager. The Citizens lost both games to the Los Blancos last season, but this time, it seems that the tables have turned.
The Los Blancos fans did everything they could to motivate their team and offer much-needed support to Xabi Alonso ahead of this faithful clash. They prepared an impressive choreography featuring a warrior in medieval armor sailing to conquer Manchester. One must imagine that the warrior-like spirit emanating from the stands had a hand in Rodrygo scoring such a masterful goal after thirty two consecutive games.
City was behind for just seven minutes, until Courtois let the ball back inside the danger zone after a header attempt by Gvardiol. Nico O’Reilly, a Manchester City academy graduate, seized the moment and kick-started the comeback for the English side. The away fans erupted in celebration, and their chants didn’t stop until the final whistle. After Haaland’s penalty tipped the score in favor of the Mancunian team, all that could be heard from the stands during free play was “Come on City”.
Real’s form has been somewhat shaky lately, as they suffered a shocking 2:0 loss to Celta Vigo on Sunday, ending their winning streak at home. As for their previous Champions League game, even though they won against Olympiacos, they barely scraped by, thanks to Mbappé scoring four goals. The Frenchmen is currently the Top goal scorer in the Champions League, having scored nine goals in the last five games. The fact that he couldn’t play tonight was a heavy blow for Madrid, as he is definitely a player who makes a difference, as previously shown in Athens.
Manchester City, on the other hand, were beaten 2:0 at home by Bayer Leverkusen in their previous Champions League fixture, but have since won three consecutive Premier League games. The Sky Blues are now just two points behind Arsenal on the Premier League table, thanks to a staggering 3:0 win over Sunderland. Haaland is now second on the Champions League Top scorers list, having scored six goals in the past six games, and his penalty shot was the deciding goal of the match tonight.
Both teams play on Sunday in their respective leagues. As for the Champions League, Manchester City will be traveling to Norway for a match against Bodø/Glimt, while Real Madrid will be squaring off with Monaco at home.