Man City 2, Real Madrid 3 (Champions League Playoff Round, 1st Leg)
Manchester City lost composure and threw away a 2-1 lead with 4 minutes to go after late goals by Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham.
Erling Haaland’s double strike looked to have earned City a home leg win in but Real not only clawed them back twice, first through a scuffed effort by Kylian Mbappe but equalised through Diaz before Bellingham scored a late winner as the Blues fell apart again.
City had to weather an early storm of chances from Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.
Vinicius Junior was clean through and brought down by Ederson for what seemed a clear penalty after Real pressurised City from the start but was rescued by the offside flag while the Brazilian had to make some important saves and a couple of expeditions outside his box to get the ball.
Erling Haaland broke the deadlock with a simple lifted finish after 19 minutes – the move was started by Jack Grealish who found Josko Gvardiol with a ball into the box for the Croatian to chest into the path of the big Norwegian for a simple finish.
There was a frustrating delay as VAR checked the goal for offside but a second release of emotion in the Etihad Stadium as it was finally confirmed.
Vini Jr and Manuel Akanji both hit the bar as the sides continued the battle and City had to live dangerously as Real got back into the game.
But City took a blow after the hour mark when Bernardo Silva gave away a free kick 25 yards out and Dani Ceballos punished the at the second attempt – he collected his own blocked set piece and found Mbappe onside and for a fortuitous scuffed volley that beat Ederson for the equaliser from 7 yards out.
City were reeling and nearly conceded again a couple of minutes later when Federico Valverde shot narrowly across the face of goal while Jude Bellingham was denied by Ederson soon afterwards and an offside Mbappe shaved the post with a wayward shot.
City got a big break after 77 minutes when Phil Foden drew a foul from Dani Ceballos to earn a penalty.
Erling Haaland sent Thibaut Courtois the wrong way, coolly rolling the spot kick into the bottom left corner while the Belgian went the other way
PLAYER RATINGS – Man City 2, Real Madrid 3 (Champions League Playoff Round, 1st Leg)
Ederson: 6. Saved by the offside flag when he brought down Vinicius Junior, saved from Mbappe too and had to come out of his area to help City several times. Poor block allowed Brahim Diaz to equalise for Real and then compounded that by rushing off his line in injury time to try and clear a ball which he wasn’t getting – to concede an injury time winner for Real.
Manuel Akanji: 6. Had his hands full with Vinicius Junior. Header came off the top of the bar from a corner. Had to come off at half time following injury.
Ruben Dias: 6. Rallied the troops at the back.
Nathan Ake: 6. Last ditch block to deny Ferland Mendy and got to the ball before another Madrid attack. Had to come off after an hour.
Josko Gvardiol: 7. Won a lot of ball. He chested down the ball for Erling Haaland’s opening goal, did a lot of defensive work against Rodrygo.
John Stones: 6. Kept it simple in midfield as he did a reasonable impression of Rodri although needed help at times with the occasional intercepted pass. Had to drop back into defence when Nathan Ake went off.
Bernardo Silva: 6. Set up a great chance for Erling Haaland. Gave away a crucial foul 25 yards out against Dani Ceballos which led to the Real Madrid goal.
Kevin De Bruyne: 6. Good set pieces. Tackled by Dani Ceballos just as he tried to get clear early in the first half.
Savinho: 6. Blazed over a good chance. Got back to defend well against Vini Jr.
Jack Grealish: 7. Earned early free kick after he was fouled, this might have forced him off after 30 minutes but by then he had played a key role in the opening goal.
Erling Haaland: 8. Titanic goal subject to lengthy VAR checks. Had another goalbound effort blocked by Raul Ascencio. Did his share of defending on set pieces too. Had a shot deflect off the crossbar 33 seconds into the second half. Scored a cool penalty which should have won it for City with 10 minutes to go.
Phil Foden (on for Jack Grealish, 30): 7. Slotted into the right wing role with Savinho going to the left flank. Cut inside and unleashed a fierce shot which was saved by Thibaut Courtois. Won a penalty but hurt at the same time.
Rico Lewis (on for Manuel Akanji, 46): 6. Thrown in at right back against Vinicius Jr. Lost the first major encounter as Jude Bellingham missed a header from a Vini Jr cutback. Made the next tackle to great applause. Looked decent on the few times he ventured forward but caught forward for Real’s injury time goal after they targeted him.
Mateo Kovacic (on for Nathan Ake, 61): 6. On to steady the ship but wasn’t seeing the danger when Real Madrid equalised a second time.
Ilkay Gundogan (on for Kevin De Bruyne, 84): No time to mark
Omar Marmoush (on for Savinho, 84): No time to mark.
GOALS – Man City 2, Real Madrid 3 (Champions League Playoff Round, 1st Leg)
Man City 1, Real Madrid 0: 19. Erling Haaland scored with a left foot finish on the half volley after getting on the end of a Josko Gvardiol chest on following a Jack Grealish teasing ball into the area. But it was only confirmed after a lengthy VAR check.
Man City 1, Real Madrid 1: 60. A Dani Ceballos free kick got deflected off the City wall but the midfielder got another chance to put the loose ball in and the scuffed volley off Kylian Mbappe’s knee defeated Ederson and drifted in from 7 yards out.
Man City 2, Real Madrid 1: 80. Erling Haaland sends Thibaut Courtois the wrong way, coolly rolling the spot kick into the bottom left corner while the Belgian goes the other way.
Man City 2, Real Madrid 2: 86. Brahim Diaz tested Ederson with a rasping shot from the right, saved by Ederson, and then tucked away the rebound – declining to celebrate against his former club.
Man City 2, Real Madrid 3: 90+2 Vinicius Junior was clean through after Real played it long, Ederson rushed out of his box and gave enough space for him to be lobbed and for Jude Bellingham to finish the loose ball at the back post.
MATCH STATS – Man City 2, Real Madrid 3 (Champions League Playoff Round, 1st Leg)
Man City: Ederson, Akanji (Lewis 46), Dias, Ake (Kovacic 61), Gvardiol, Stones, Silva, De Bruyne (C) (Gundogan 84), Savinho (Marmoush 84), Grealish (Foden 30), Haaland
Man City Subs not used: Ortega, Doku, Gonzalez, Nunes, Khusanov, O’Reilly, McAtee
Goals: Haaland 19, 80 pen
Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde (C), Ascencio, Tchouameni, Mendy, Camavinga, Ceballos (Modric 81), Bellingham, Rodrygo (Diaz 84), Vinicius Jr, Mbappe (Garcia 90+2)
Real Madrid Subs not used: Lunin, Mestre, Guler, Endrick, Vallejo, Gonzalo, Ramon, Andres, Aguado
Goals: Mbappe 60; Diaz 86; Bellingham 90+2
Referee: Clement Turpin (France)