Xabi Alonso on the brink as Manchester City come from behind to defeat Real Madrid
PEP TALK: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola greets Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso. Pic: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
Pep Guardiola will never tired of winning in the Bernabeu - even if the Catalan's seventh managerial victory in the Spanish capital might cost close friend Xabi Alonso his job.
The Manchester City manager saw his team come from behind to secure a priceless Champions League victory thanks to two goals in the space of eight first-half minutes from Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland.
Guardiola had been here 13 times before as a coach and only departed a beaten man on three of those occasions.
Each time it resulted in City exiting the tournament. This victory might prove fatal for Alonso, the coach he once tried to take to the Etihad as his assistant when Mikel Arteta left for Arsenal.
Madrid have now won just two of their last eight matches and president Florentino Perez is not known for his patience.
These two teams have met in the Champions League in each of the last five seasons and now have a compelling rivalry.
That was illustrated when Madrid's fans unfurled a huge Tifo before kick off depicting a Conquistador captain looking through a telescope. His sights were fixed on the sailing ship on City's crest. But it was City doing all the sinking.
This was a huge evening for Alonso. The white handkerchiefs of discontent were waved in their thousands after Celta Vigo left the Bernabeu with a 2-0 win on Sunday night, when the home team had three players sent off.
Perez reacted by calling a crisis meeting and there would have been little sympathy for an injury crisis that robbed Alonso of Kylian Mbappe, defenders Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy and Dean Huijsen and midfield kingpin Eduardo Camavinga.
City had a huge let-off after just 108 seconds when Vinicius Junior was clipped by Matheus Nunes and French referee Clement Turpin pointed immediately to the penalty spot. The official was quickly informed by the VAR that the offence had taken place inches outside the area.
Federico Valverde's thunderous free-kick then took a huge deflection off O'Reilly's heel and flew wide with City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma beaten.
The visitors were exposed on the counter-attack next when Rodrygo raced down the right and sent over a low cross that Vinicius Junior could only clip wide.
Even when City were able to stem the tide with some prolonged possession, they still looked vulnerable. So it proved in the 27th minute when the Spaniards swept forward to take the lead.
When Bernardo Silva lost possession he was deep in Real's half. But four passes took them forward in the blink of an eye before Jude Bellingham's pass put Rodrygo in behind O'Reilly and the Brazilian flashed an angled shot beyond Donnarumma and into the far corner.
It was Rodrygo's first goal in 33 games - but the fifth he's notched against the club rumoured to be interested in signing him in the summer.
When City finally threatened Thibaut Courtois' goal for the first time it brought them a 35th-minute equaliser for O'Reilly.
Nunes' corner was met by a forceful Josko Gvardiol header that Courtois would have been disappointed not to hold and the Manchester-born City fan gobbled up the rebound.
The visitors then silenced the Bernabeu completely two minutes before half-time when Erling Haaland scored his first-ever goal on Madrid soil.
Referee Turpin inexplicably ignored Antonio Rudiger grappling with the City striker when Jeremy Doku crossed from the left, until VAR intervened and he duly pointed to the penalty spot.
Haaland duly sent Courtois the wrong way to register his 51st Champions League strike in just 50 appearances and his 34th goal for club and country this season.
City almost scored again in the last seconds of the half when Doku and O'Reilly combined on the break but Courtois excelled to beat away Haaland's shot and Rayan Cherki's follow-up drive.
Bellingham lifted a decent chance over immediately after the break, but Courtois saved smartly despite Cherki's shot taking a wicked deflection. The Belgian then kept his side in the game with another plunging stop from Doku after the winger had cut inside Marco Asencio.
In a frantic finale, Vinicius Junior wasted two decent chances and substitute Endrick saw his header clip the crossbar.
Courtois; Valverde, Ascencio (Endrick 79), Rudiger, Carreras; Tchouameni, Ceballos (Diaz 67); Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Gonzalo Garcia (Guler 58).
Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Silva, Gonzalez, Foden (Reijnders 70); Cherki (Savinho 70), Haaland (Marmoush 70), Doku (Ake 88).
Clement Turpin (France).
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