Pep Guardiola's City rubs salt in Real Madrid's wounds

Pep Guardiola got his way at the Santiago Bernabéu, and City, without playing a spectacular match, did enough to rub salt in the wounds of Real Madrid (1-2) and further bury Xabi Alonso. Real Madrid took the lead through Rodrygo, who scored his first goal in over nine months, but O'Reilly and Haaland, from the penalty spot, soon turned the game around. The Real Madrid manager is on thin ice after suffering two consecutive defeats, but he has saved his job, for the moment, because his team at least fought until the final whistle.

In a stadium where Guardiola will always be persona non grata, the team managed by the Catalan coach needed only two almost consecutive attacks to neutralize Real Madrid's opening goal. Without Kylian Mbappé, on the bench with muscle discomfort in his left leg (he also has a broken finger), Alonso opted for the young Gonzalo up front. He also started Ceballos, despite the midfielder having been completely unused in recent matches. The Real Madrid coach tried to make changes to turn his team's disappointing run of form around, and if he's ultimately sacked, let it be for making his own decisions. You could say he heeded the advice that Guardiola had jokingly given him beforehand. Rodrygo was the other big surprise in the starting eleven, and the gamble, at least for a few minutes in the first half, seemed to be paying off for the Basque manager. City dominated, but Madrid held firm and remembered to use one of the weapons that has often characterized their football: counter-attacks. They managed to break the deadlock shortly before the half-hour mark: a goal from Rodrygo, in which the Brazilian connected with a well-placed shot, but a goalkeeper of Donnarumma's caliber perhaps should have done more. The goal energized the Bernabéu crowd, eager to recover the pride they had lost on Sunday in the defeat against Celta. Rodrygo went to embrace Alonso in celebration. Their joy was short-lived, however, because Guardiola's team turned the score around in no time. It's hard to recall a time when, doing so little, City have gained so much from a visit to the Bernabéu. Less than ten minutes after Madrid's goal, the young Nico O'Reilly pounced on a rebound at point-blank range following a passively defended corner. Bellingham, a player criticized for his poor performance, was at fault for City's goal due to his lack of decisiveness in marking Gvardiol, which led to the equalizer. Five minutes later, a clear penalty conceded by Rüdiger on Haaland tipped the scales in favor of the British side. Boos echoed around the Bernabéu.

City turn things around in the blink of an eye

The referee feigned nearsightedness for a few moments and had to go to the monitor to review the clear grab by the Real Madrid center-back at the VAR's urging. The first replay was enough for him to award a penalty, which Haaland, with titanic composure, converted to complete the comeback. Courtois, the closest thing to a saint that Real Madrid has, prevented a third goal with a double save just before halftime. In the second half, the game started wide open, with City trying to unsettle Real Madrid with attacks from Cherki and Doku, and Alonso's men coming close to equalizing with a Bellingham chip attempt that went over the bar and a shot, also wide, from Vinicius when he was alone in front of goal. The Real Madrid manager went for broke, bringing on Endrick, who had been virtually invisible this season. He almost touched the sky with his fingertips, but his header struck the crossbar. Madrid were searching for a heroic comeback, but this time neither the spirit of Juanito nor anyone else would appear. Well, yes, the solidity of center-backs Ruben Dias and Gvardiol would appear to crush any hope for the Whites.