Real Madrid have come from behind to beat Man City once again. This time, Carlo Ancelotti's side scored twice in the final 10 minutes to secure a 3-2 away win. This is a huge advantage before Los Blancos return home a week later for the return leg.
In the 80th minute, when Erling Haaland completed his double with a penalty, it seemed like Man City had ended the match. However, in the Champions League, especially when facing Real Madrid, just one mistake can cost you dearly.
As for Man City, they made two mistakes. First was a very careless goal kick from Ederson Moraes, then a dangerous pass back from Mateo Kovacic. In just those two moments, Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham punished the home team.
Since the 2012-2013 season, Man City have never missed the Champions League round of 16. This time, they could set a sad record when they set their sights on the Bernabeu next week.
Real Madrid overcame adversity, not only because of the comeback. They stood firm with a defense of 4, including 3 patch options, with only Ferland Mendy on the left wing being the main factor. In the first minutes, when the attack was putting pressure, the away team's defense proved too immature to face the danger of Haaland.
The Norwegian striker did not have any touches in the penalty area before scoring against Thibaut Courtois in the 19th minute. The coordination between Fede Valverde - Aurelien Tchouameni - Raul Asencio was still very good.
Only after Haaland opened the scoring did the central defenders Tchouameni and Asencio become more focused. Instead of choosing to mark people in the area, they followed Man City's strikers like a shadow. Both chose to collide strongly to compensate for their lack of spatial awareness to mark people in the area.
With Lucas Vazquez's latest injury ahead of the game, the defence is likely to start again in the second leg. Before the likes of Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba return, Valverde and the rest of Los Blancos' defence will have to go through another hurdle as City are pushed into a corner.
On Real Madrid's side, their attack had a great match at the Etihad. With the best attacking quartet in Europe at the moment, even when they were behind and under great pressure, they still had many threats against the opponent's goal. However, Kylian Mbappe's equalizer 1-1 came from a rather lucky shot with his shin.
It was the second time in as many days, including last weekend's Madrid Derby, that Mbappe had equalised for Real Madrid, proving that he and his teammates are used to the pressure and that nothing can stop them from scoring.
Substitute Brahim Diaz also scored the equalizer, proving that Carlo Ancelotti had prepared his players well to deal with the situation. With Jude Bellingham's late goal, Real Madrid once again reminded the whole of Europe that they are always the team that can create victory in just a few short minutes at the end of the match.
The return match a week from now will be the best match of the tournament. Man City has been pushed into a corner while Real Madrid still has many shortcomings. The winner of this match can once again be crowned champion as happened 3 seasons ago.
