Manchester City mount late Champions League comeback to defeat Real Madrid
Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne both score as Manchester City take a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had never beaten Real Madrid with a team that did not include Lionel Messi. He failed to do so when managing Bayern Munich and looked like that record was going to continue when Isco shot past Ederson to give Madrid the lead.
When the line-ups first came out, Pep raised a few eyebrows as he left David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling on the bench.
Was this yet another case of Guardiola overthinking a big game in Europe?
In the first-half, it certainly seemed so.
City had a tough time keeping possession, resorting to long balls from Ederson. Real Madrid did a good job of cutting down the passing lanes and forcing City to those types of passes. But City had the best opportunity of the half with Gabriel Jesus striking a ball from the left-hand side that Courtois did well to block.
City did look more dangerous but all that work was undone when Vinicius Jr. took advantage of a loss in possession that led to Isco’s goal. To their credit, City kept their composure.
Gabriel Jesus equalized following a cross from Kevin De Bruyne as the Brazilian managed to beat Sergio Ramos. Despite shouts of a foul, the goal was given and City were back in it.
They finally took the lead thanks to a penalty by Dani Cravajal on Raheem Sterling. City’s had their troubles with penalties but De Bruyne sent Courtois the other way and gave City the lead.
From then on City took control of the game and were close to scoring a third after a sloppy backpass by Casemiro. Jesus recovered but was taken down by Sergio Ramos who was shown a red for his troubles.
According to Goal, that was Ramos’ fourth Champions League red card and now shares that dubious record with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edgar Davids.
The win was important for a number of reasons. It’s Pep’s first win against Madrid since leaving Barcelona, they head back home with a lead and it shows they’re still focused in spite of the UEFA ban.
But Pep Guardiola isn’t counting out Real Madrid quite yet.
“No, if there’s a team that can come back against anything, it’s Real Madrid”
Source: Marca
He did, however, stress the importance of the win because he knows winning at the Bernabeu is still an achievement even with all of Madrid’s recent struggles.
If anyone is looking for a negative, it is Aymeric Laporte being forced off in the first-half. At the same time, they were able to come back without him which should give them a mental boost for the return leg.
As for Real Madrid, they’ve dug themselves into a hole. Like last season, they’ll be without Sergio Ramos for the return leg and have to play against Barcelona in between that game.
City then will play the return leg at home and with a lead. The tie is theirs to lose but they have crumbled in the past before.
Knocking off Real Madrid would be huge and ,after all, given the lead Liverpool have in the league, the Champions League should be Manchester City’s focus.
