Manchester City staged a comeback to increase the pressure on Real Madrid‘s manager Xabi Alonso, securing a remarkable 2-1 victory at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland—who notched his 51st goal in his 50th Champions League start—scored as Pep Guardiola’s team revived their European hopes following a surprising defeat to Bayer Leverkusen last month.
Both players found the net in the closing 10 minutes of the first half, with Haaland converting a penalty as City responded to Rodrygo’s initial goal in the 28th minute in an exciting match.
Real Madrid had several opportunities to equalize, but without injured star Kylian Mbappé watching from the sidelines, they failed to capitalize on them.
After suffering a disappointing defeat to Celta Vigo on Saturday, this marked Madrid’s second consecutive loss, casting doubt on Alonso’s future as manager.
Despite their efforts, the audible discontent from the crowd at full-time highlighted the growing frustration.
Having faced off 11 times over the past six years, the rivalry remained fierce, and this match was no exception.
Manchester City initially survived a scare when a foul on Vinícius Júnior by Matheus Nunes was initially ruled as a penalty, but VAR overturned the decision after determining the foul occurred outside the box.
Federico Valverde’s ensuing free-kick was deflected wide, and Madrid quickly went back on the attack, with Vinícius failing to control a dangerous low cross from Rodrygo.
They eventually converted their next opportunity, countering quickly from deep to score after Álvaro Carreras outpaced Bernardo Silva. Jude Bellingham set up Rodrygo, who drilled a low shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma into the far corner.
While Madrid’s sharp start was rewarded, City had been creating fluid attacks of their own, even if they lacked finishing touch initially.
City’s equalizer came from a set-piece, with O’Reilly tapping in after Thibaut Courtois failed to hold onto a header from Josko Gvardiol after a corner kick.
They were then awarded a penalty when Antonio Rüdiger was found to have wrestled Haaland down off the ball.
After a long review, the penalty was confirmed, and Haaland converted confidently, sending Courtois the wrong way.
City nearly scored a third before halftime as Courtois redeemed himself with saves from Haaland and Rayan Cherki
in quick succession.
Courtois had another lucky escape early in the second half when a deflected shot from Cherki landed in his arms.
The game remained intense, with Madrid creating chances on the break, but Bellingham’s shot sailed over the bar.
Rüdiger missed with a header while Vinícius volleyed off-target as Madrid increased their pressure late in the match, culminating in substitute Endrick hitting the crossbar.