After twice falling behind, Real Madrid produced a dramatic comeback to edge out home side Manchester City 3-2 in the first leg of the Champions League play-off, securing a spot in the round of 16.
At one point, the visitors appeared content to settle for a draw—having even pulled substitute Kylian Mbappe off in the 90th minute and replaced him with defender Fran Garcia to bolster their defense and run down the clock. Yet somehow, City ended up “shooting themselves in the foot” and collapsed just as they had on several occasions this season.
From what seemed like a harmless midfield situation, midfielder Mateo Kovacic played a slightly premature pass. Rico Lewis hesitated to clear the ball, allowing Vinicius Junior to intercept and drive forward. With goalkeeper Ederson rushing out unnecessarily, Vinicius managed to lob the ball over his head. This enabled Jude Bellingham to surge into an empty net, giving Real Madrid the lead—just eight days before the return leg in Madrid.
Ederson had performed reasonably well during the first 80 minutes, making two crucial saves in the 62nd and 66th minutes. However, the 31-year-old goalkeeper could have done better to prevent the two late goals. In the 86th minute, he failed to collect a narrow-angle shot from Vinicius, and the loose ball fell perfectly for Diaz, who calmly tucked it into the far corner.
Despite having only played 15 matches in three seasons with City, Diaz chose not to celebrate his goal. Instead, he joined his teammates in jubilation when Bellingham scored the final goal—an act that triggered a chorus of boos and jeers from the Etihad crowd, seemingly directed at the former City midfielder.
Vinicius played a key role in both of Real’s late goals, which earned him UEFA’s man of the match award. The 2024 recipient of FIFA’s The Best award has either scored or assisted in 15 of his 17 Champions League knockout matches so far.
Before kickoff, however, the Etihad crowd had unfurled a huge banner featuring Rodri holding the 2024 Ballon d’Or, as many expected Vinicius to win the award. The banner’s message read “Stop Crying.” During the match, City fans continued to taunt Vinicius with chants of “Where’s your Ballon d’Or?” but Vinicius remained silent, instead raising the emblem of 15 Champions League and Cup titles emblazoned on Real’s shirt.
Had Manchester City not collapsed in the dying minutes, the man of the match award might have gone to Erling Haaland. The Norwegian forward had opened the scoring in the 19th minute following a beautifully orchestrated attack. Jack Grealish received the ball on the left wing and lofted it into the box, only for defender Josko Gvardiol to block it off his chest. Haaland was in the right place at the right time, slotting the ball into the far corner.
Haaland completed his brace in the 80th minute from the penalty spot. After midfielder Dani Ceballos committed an unnecessary foul on Phil Foden inside the box, referee Clement Turpin awarded a penalty. The 24-year-old promptly converted, sending a low shot into the left corner to give City a 2-1 lead. Haaland later rued a long-range effort that struck the crossbar, which would have sealed his hat-trick.
Haaland’s two goals enabled him to surpass Sergio Aguero’s record of 47 Champions League goals for City. Aguero had boldly predicted before the match that City would defeat Real Madrid—or else he would “cut off his testicles.” However, Pep Guardiola’s men were unable to live up to the Argentine striker’s confidence.
Real Madrid managed to score 20 times in the match, the highest tally conceded by a City side at the Etihad under Guardiola’s reign. One of these was Mbappe’s equalizer—a goal born from Ceballos’s touch in the 60th minute. The French forward charged into the box and went airborne in a scuffle that narrowly missed the target, only to force Ederson into a clumsy save.
City managed only 11 shots in the match and created no significant chances beyond the two goals they scored. In contrast, Real Madrid squandered three additional good opportunities that might have extended their lead further. Should the entire team fail to improve its performance, Guardiola could face the prospect of being eliminated before the round of 16 for the first time in his career.