Successive defeats for Real Madrid as Manchester City storm the Bernabeu

Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City

Real Madrid have continued their poor form with their second Champions League defeat of the season, with Manchester City emerging as winners at the Bernabeu.

Xabi Alonso decided not to risk Kylian Mbappe due to knee discomfort, which meant Vinicius Junior was seen as Real Madrid’s talisman for the match – and two minutes in, he thought he’d won a penalty when he was fouled by Matheus Nunes. A spot-kick was given by referee Clement Turpin, but following a VAR check, it was found that the offence had been committed outside the area.

Despite this, Real Madrid did find their way into the lead just before the hour mark. Jude Bellingham slipped in Rodrygo, who fired across Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the far corner for his fifth goal against Man City. In the process, he also ended a 32-match scoreless streak at club level, which had dated back to March.

However, Real Madrid were ahead of less than 10 minutes. A corner from the right was headed towards goal, and with Thibaut Courtois failing to keep hold of the ball, it allowed Nico O’Reilly to tap home from inside the six-yard box.

Man City would then complete the comeback just before the interval. Antonio Rudiger was adjudged to have dragged down Erling Haaland inside the penalty area, which allowed the Norwegian striker to score from 12 yards.

In the second half, Real Madrid pushed hard for an equaliser, inspired by Rodrygo. Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior both had big chances to score, but in the end, neither player hit the target, much to the frustration of the home support.

Pressure builds on Xabi Alonso after another poor result

There were loud whistles at full time, which underlined that it was another disappointing result for Real Madrid. Alonso was already under pressure coming into this one, and with a defeat, the pressure will have been turned up to 11.

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