Overthrowing Man City, Real Madrid takes one step towards the top 16

MANCHESTER, WEDNESDAY – The dominance of Manchester City at home in the Champions League finally crumbled in the midst of the bleakest season under Pep Guardiola. Real Madrid defeated "The Citizens" with a score of 2-3, Wednesday (12/2/2025) WIB, at Etihad Stadium to move closer to the round of 16.

A pair of goals by Erling Haaland in the 19th and 80th minutes briefly raised City's hopes of taking the lead into the second game at Bernabeu Stadium next week. However, City's advantage evaporated due to two late goals by Real, scored by Brahim Diaz (86') and Jude Bellingham (90+2).

Previously, "Los Blancos" had equalized through Kylian Mbappe's curling shot in the 60th minute. Real became the first team to defeat City in a continental competition since September 2018. The last team to embarrass City at the Etihad was the French representative, Olympique Lyon.

Real's victory at Etihad brings them closer to the round of 16. Los Blancos are certainly more confident to play the second game at home. This is because they have never lost to City at home under the management of Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti emphasized that his team's success in securing three points from Etihad does not necessarily mean Real has a better chance of advancing to the next round. According to him, City still has the potential to avenge the defeat at Bernabeu.

"We are not certain of qualification, but we have a small advantage. It was a good game for us and we are happy. Now we have to prepare well for the second game, but this victory gives us a lot of confidence," Ancelotti was quoted as saying by Marca.

Bellingham, the scorer of Real's winning goal, also does not want to be complacent with the victory at Etihad. The player from England emphasized that the Real squad will continue to perform with high focus at home.

"This is a good result to bring home the advantage. I am sure the Bernabeu will be roaring. We will deliver a performance that they deserve to witness again," said Bellingham as reported by the UEFA website.

In order to secure the first positive result from City's home ground, Ancelotti continued to implement a reactive pattern. Real did not attempt to match City's expertise in ball possession.

Despite having 46 percent possession, their highest in four visits to the Etihad, Los Blancos relied more on fast breaks, with Kylian Mbappe's presence this season further sharpening Real's attack.

In the 10th minute, Mbappe had already threatened City's goal with a hard kick during a counter-attack.

Real's final two goals came after a flurry of positive transitions from Real, with fluid movement between Mbappe and Vinicius disrupting the City defenders' focus in the final third.

Vinicius, although not on the scoresheet, had a big part in both goals. For Los Blancos' second goal, Vinicius fired a shot that was saved by City goalkeeper Ederson, then Diaz made the most of the saved ball to equalize.

Vinicius played a big role in Real's winning goal as he successfully won the ball towards City's right wing-back Rico Lewis. With his speed, Vinicius split the Citizens' defense and finished with a shot that was finished by Bellingham to enter the City goal.

Vinicius' freedom is inseparable from the absence of Kyle Walker who has moved to AC Milan. It is undeniable that Walker has the defensive ability and speed to dampen Vinicius.

Real deserved to win. They created 20 shots, eight of which were on target. That was twice as many threats as City, who only managed four of their 11 shots on target.

"We played a good game according to our expectations. Sometimes we lacked balance, but with the sacrifices of the players they were able to show their best quality," said Ancelotti.

Meanwhile, City repeated their defensive lapses that have been repeated this season. Despite scoring two goals from 1.6 expected goals (xG), City's defenders failed to maintain focus in the second half.

All three of Real's goals came after City failed to win the second ball, a skill that has been City's main weapon in dominating every opponent in recent seasons.

Mbappe got away from City's marker after Dani Ceballos made the most of the second ball from his missed free-kick to lob Mbappe. Then, for Real's second goal, City were again less aggressive and less anticipatory in winning the second ball in their own box.

And Lewis also had a second ball duel with Vinicius that led to Real's winning goal. Unsurprisingly, City have conceded 17 goals in their last six Champions League games. That is their worst number of goals conceded in a single season in European club competition since they reached the 2020-21 Champions League final.

"After we were ahead, (the mistakes) happened again in many games: Sporting, Brentford, Manchester United. We gave the opponent chances in many games. At this level, it's very difficult," Guardiola was quoted as saying by UEFA.

He added, "When victory is in sight and we let it go, it's hard to take. But we will try our best in the second game."