Hosting Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League play-off in the early morning of February 12 (Vietnam time), coach Pep Guardiola surprised many with his daring lineup choice.
He played with a back five and played John Stones in the central midfield role instead of Mateo Kovacic or Ilkay Gundogan. From the very first minutes, City applied strong pressure but Real took advantage of every gap to create consecutive good chances.
However, Madrid's strikers could not take advantage and they paid a heavy price with Erling Haaland's opening goal in the 19th minute. The Norwegian striker fired a left-footed shot that flew over Thibaut Courtois' head, marking the first goal of his career against the Royal team.
The home team played well for most of the first half, but the pressure from Real was undeniable. In the 60th minute, Kylian Mbappe equalized with a beautiful volley.
In the 80th minute, Dani Ceballos fouled Phil Foden, forcing the referee to point to the penalty spot. Haaland successfully took advantage of the 11m kick to put City ahead.
But once again, City lost the advantage in the final minutes of the match with inexplicable defending. In the 86th minute, Ederson's error in clearance started the chain of passes that led to Brahim Diaz's equalizer.
In extra time, Vinicius Junior shot from a distance, Ederson pushed the ball right to Bellingham's position, the English midfielder easily scored the rebound to seal a 3-2 victory for Real Madrid.
This result means City need to win by at least one goal in the return leg at the Bernabeu. But this is a very difficult task and they are in great danger of being eliminated.
