Man City travelled to the Santiago Bernabeu to face the side that knocked them out of last year’s Champions League and will return to the UK with all three points, taking them up to fourth in the league phase.
Vinicius Jr thought he had won Real Madrid a penalty in the second minute but after VAR intervened, Matheus Nunes’ foul was judged to be just outside of the box and a free-kick was awarded instead.
About 20 minutes later Real Madrid’s other frustrated Brazilian winger, Rodrygo, scored the opener, ending a 32-game goal drought with a lovely effort from a tight angle following some fantastic work from Jude Bellingham.
City kept coming though, and academy product Nico O’Reilly levelled things up thanks to a mistake from Thibaut Courtois. Finally, Erling Haaland inevitably got on the scoresheet, finishing from the penalty spot and securing the win.
Could this be it for Xabi Alonso?
There were plenty of reports coming out of Spain ahead of the game that should Real Madrid lose, Alonso will be sacked. Well, Real Marid have lost, so we guess all there is to do now is wait.
Alonso has been much maligned over the past few weeks. A drop in form and rumours of bust-ups with pretty much every big name in the Real Madrid dressing room have seriously pilled the pressure on the young manager.
From the outside looking in, it all seems very harsh, but boos from those Los Blancos supporters inside the ground once the final whistle blew may well be an indicator that he’s starting to lose the fans too.
Luckily for Alonso, the Liverpool job might be available soon.
Nico O’Reilly is the business
The 20-year-old isn’t even a left-back and he just ran the show against one of the biggest clubs on the planet. City’s academy is arguably the best in England, and O’Reilly looks like one of the most impressive to break into the first team since Phil Foden.
O’Reilly ended his game not only scoring the first goal, but making four passes into the final third, three tackles, four clearances, and five recoveries. He was absolutely everywhere for Pep Guardiola’s side tonight.
He’s already had chances to make an impression on England manager Thomas Tuchel, featuring in their final squad of the year and playing the full 90 minutes in the wins over Serbia and Albania.
If he keeps his form up, he’ll nail that left-back spot down for next year’s World Cup.
Injuries take their toll for Real Madrid
Real Madrid were second best for much of the game up until the final 25 minutes or so, but this could have been an entirely different result if they didn’t have the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Dean Huijsen, and Daniel Carvajal out injured.
It’s such unfortunate timing for them to be facing an opponent as good as Man City with seven players sidelined. The big one was obviously Mbappe; Gonzalo Garcia is a decent striker, but he’s nowhere near as good as the man who has 26 goals already this season.
Whether the Real Madrid board will consider the fact Alonso had to play a seemingly past it Antonio Rudiger alongside Raul Asencio at the back because he simply had no other options, we don’t know, but they should do.