Manchester City 2 Real Madrid 3: match report

City’s faint champions league hopes take overwhelming blow following late throw away to Real Madrid

Manchester City welcomed Real Madrid to the Etihad on Tuesday evening for the first leg of the Champions League play off round with a place in the round of 16 of the newly updated version of the tournament at stake. City went in knowing that at least some form of a victory was necessary with a trip to the Bernabeu just next week. Ederson started in goal with Akanji, Dias, Stones, Gvardiol and Ake in defence. Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Savio, and Grealish were in the midfield with Erling Haaland the sole striker.

The match was hardly a comfortable start for the Blues. Real Madrid came knocking on the door almost immediately and it’s likely a wonder to many how they didn’t score in the opening 15 minutes when Ake blocked a shot from Ferland Mendy into what was otherwise, an open goal. Another close chance went begging for Real, as Vinicius was seemingly through 1v1 against Ederson but the shot was saved by the goalkeeper. City were able to punish this just a few minutes later, with a chip in from Grealish falling to the chest of Gvardiol straight into the path of Haaland who poked the ball in to give City the lead. After a lengthy var check of what seemed like up to 4 minutes, the goal stood. The Blues struggled with injuries throughout the game following the first goal, Grealish went off injured moments after the goal went in and by half time Akanji was injured. City went into half time with a slender 1-0 lead, knowing Real Madrid would aim to come out stronger in the second half.

The second half opened with an early opportunity for City once again, a ball in from Foden found Haaland who despite being in a difficult position chipped the ball and the shot came off the bar, another moment of frustration for City. Not surprisingly, Real were still knocking on the door with force and they would finally get themselves an equaliser. A free kick found the shin of Mbappe, who probably didn’t strike it the way he meant to but the ball still found its way in anyway. A goal to probably sum up City’s luck all season. Despite the equaliser, City managed to remain calm at the time and made some changes bringing Kovacic on for more support in midfield.

In the 80th minute, a foul on Foden on the line of the penalty area was given as a penalty, a chance for City to get their noses in front once more. Haaland cooly converted the penalty sending Courtois the wrong way and it was 2-1 with 10 minutes of normal time remaining. Marmoush and Gundogan came on following the goal.
Unfortunately, City’s joy of being in the lead was short lived. In the 86th minute, the Blues found themselves under immense pressure once more and Ederson initially saved a shot from Vinicius Jr but parried it straight into the path of former City player Brahim Diaz who merely just struck the ball with his left foot to make it 2-2.

A draw would’ve been difficult enough to take to the Bernabeu but the City implosion was not complete yet. In the second minute of added time, a poor choice of pass from Kovacic fell to Vinicius Jr who chipped the ball past Ederson and right to Bellingham who poked the ball into an empty net to give Real Madrid the lead to take back to the Bernabeu. A disastrous turn of events for the Blues.

With City’s form this season and apparent inability to keep composed in high intensity games – winning at the Bernabeu next week seems practically impossible. They would need their best performance of the season if they are to qualify – by some distance too. Long story short, the late throw away just about sums up City’s luck this season and there are questions to be answered for Pep. From so many years of success, the main goal of this season may be damage control, with City still in a top 4 scrap and facing Plymouth Argyle in the FA cup.