City comes from behind at the Bernabéu and sharpens Real Madrid's crisis (1-2)

For the first time since 2020, Manchester City managed to win at the Santiago Bernabéu (1-2), repeating the result that Pep Guardiola's team celebrated in February of that year, just before the pandemic. This Wednesday, goals from Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland gave the 'sky blue' side a golden victory against a Real Madrid that is deepening its crisis.

Xabi Alonso's team suffered their second consecutive home defeat and fourth of the season (second in the Champions League), leaving Xabi Alonso on the brink. The Tolosa-born coach, in his first season, has failed to improve on Carlo Ancelotti's performance last season, having squandered a 5-point lead in LaLiga over the past month.

Without Kylian Mbappé in the starting XI and with six players out due to injury, Xabi opted for Gonzalo García as the '9' and Dani Ceballos in midfield, in addition to Fede Valverde returning to right-back. Madrid was superior in the first half-hour, but City was more effective and managed to go into halftime with a minimal lead, coming back from the initial goal by Rodrygo.

In the second half, City took control of possession against a tired Madrid, who were lacking ideas and substitutes. Finally, Pep Guardiola's team secured the victory and **move up to fourth place in the standings** with 13 points. One more than Real Madrid, who remain in the TOP-8 with 12 units, but with a very criticized Xabi Alonso

Rodrygo broke his incredible goal drought with Real Madrid

Valverde and Vinicius had clear opportunities in the first 5 minutes for a Real Madrid that surprised Pep Guardiola's team with vertical play and a very compact 4-3-3 block. Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo started engaged, the former very active as a central midfielder and the latter inspired on the right.In the 28th minute, an through ball from the Englishman to the '11' left the Brazilian well-positioned to shoot across goal with his right foot. Rodrygo outpaced **Nico O'Reilly** to end his streak of more than nine months without scoring in official matches. The left-back, however, would get his revenge just seven minutes later.Although City did not reach the rival's area in the first 30 minutes, the English found in set pieces the way to come back from a match that looked very difficult for the Mancunians

A corner and a penalty gave City a halftime lead

Erling Haaland talks with Antonio Rüdiger in Real Madrid-Manchester City

In the 35th minute, a corner from the left surprised the 'Merengue' defense. Gvardiol anticipated Rüdiger in the jump to head the ball, and although Courtois prevented the goal with a save on the line, the rebound was short and Nico O'Reilly took advantage to push the ball into the net.

The 1-1 was a tremendous blow for a Real Madrid side that struggles to process conceded goals. To make matters worse, in the 41st minute, Rüdiger committed an absurd penalty in a tussle with Erling Haaland. The main referee, Clément Turpin, initially saw nothing, but was called by VAR and, after reviewing the play on the monitor, did not hesitate to penalize the infringement.

Haaland took charge of the penalty, fooling Courtois to celebrate his fifth goal in the Champions League. **The favorable advantage for City could have been even greater at halftime**, but the Belgian goalkeeper made two consecutive saves after a lethal English counterattack that ended in shots from Erling himself and Cherki.

The halftime score was misleading, considering what both teams had offered, but Manchester did what so often worked for their rival: they retreated and relied on their striking power and specific plays to inflict damage. 

Real Madrid ran out of steam in the second half

The second half began with an intense rhythm. Cherki almost scored after another lightning-fast counterattack by City, but Courtois saved the Frenchman's shot in two attempts. Madrid also came close to equalizing with a high shot from Bellingham, who had been one-on-one with Donnarumma after a good through ball from Vinicius.

Xabi Alonso took off Gonzalo to reorganize his midfield with the introduction of Arda Güler in the 60th minute. City, however, took control of possession and Jéremy Doku, in the 61st minute, again tested Courtois after a good burst down the left, easily beating Asencio.

Brahim Díaz also came on for a lackluster Dani Ceballos, while Guardiola refreshed his lineup with the introductions of Reijnders, Marmoush, and Savinho for Foden, Haaland, and Cherki. The match began to lose intensity, as City managed the ball without suffering defensive scares.

City's Huge Win and Total Crisis at Real Madrid

The 'merengues' threatened again in the 76th minute with a header from Vinicius that went wide from a Rodrygo cross. The '7' missed a bicycle kick again, with an open goal, four minutes later, after a corner where Donnarumma came out poorly. By that time, **Endrick** had already come on for Asensio, in an all-or-nothing substitution to search for the equalizer.

Clément Turpin let Rüdiger off with a yellow card in the 81st minute after a clear foul on Bernardo Silva on the edge of the box. Just after, Endrick hit the crossbar with a header from a cross by Carreras. 

Beyond piling players near the rival's area, Real Madrid couldn't find the formula to salvage at least a draw. The absence of Kylian Mbappé weighed too heavily on the attack of a 'Merengue' squad that, despite playing slightly better than against Celta, is entering a total crisis: without a clear strategy, with a damp powder keg, and a severe plague of injuries.

Match Report: Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City

• Real Madrid, 1: Courtois; Valverde, Raúl Asencio (Endrick, min. 78), Rüdiger, Carreras; Dani Ceballos (Brahim, min. 66), Tchouaméni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius and Gonzalo García (Güler, min. 59).
• Manchester City, 2: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico González, Bernardo Silva, Foden (Reijnders, min. 70); Cherki (Savinho, min. 70), Doku (Aké, min. 87) and Haaland (Marmoush, min. 70).
• Goals: 1-0, Rodrygo Goes (min. 28); 1-1, Nico O'Reilly (min. 35); 1-2, Erling Haaland (min. 43, pen.).
• Referee: Clément Turpin. For Real Madrid, he cautioned Antonio Rüdiger, Rodrygo and Álvaro Carreras. For Manchester City, he cautioned Phil Foden, Nico O'Reilly and Bernardo Silva. He awarded a penalty for Rüdiger's foul on Haaland, following a VAR review in the first half. He did not send off Rüdiger in the second half after a foul on the edge of the box on Bernardo Silva.
• Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 6 of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26.