Nico O’Reilly’s opportunistic strike and Erling Haaland’s penalty helped Manchester City to fight back to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in a tense Champions League contest at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Rodrygo opened the scoring with a low shot from a counter in the 28th minute, with City looking exposed almost every time Madrid ventured forward for the first half an hour.
Then, eight minutes later, defender Antonio Ruediger conceded a penalty by wrestling Haaland to the ground as he went to meet a cross in the six-yard box, with the Norwegian striker making sure with the resulting penalty.
The victory pushed Pep Guardiola’s side up to fourth in the Champions League standings with 13 points from six games, while Real Madrid dropped to seventh with 12 points after suffering their second straight defeat in all competitions.
The Bernabeu crowd voiced their discontent with manager Xabi Alonso, jeering throughout the match as Real continued a poor run of form, having now won just two of their last eight games across all competitions.
“It wasn’t enough, we go away very frustrated. We had a great first half, we wanted to start strong, we scored… we need to improve,” Rodrygo told Movistar Plus.
“These matches are decided by details, set pieces… that’s why it’s frustrating for us because we train for it and it happens but anyway we have to keep going.”
Despite missing eight injured players, including top scorer Kylian Mbappe — who only made the bench after skipping training on Tuesday — Real Madrid started strongly.
After Vinicius Jr and Federico Valverde came close to scoring, the breakthrough came in the 28th minute when Rodrygo ended his nine-month scoring drought for Real Madrid with a low strike into the bottom corner.
City’s response was sluggish in the opening half-hour, with them failing to register a shot on target and appearing vulnerable to Real’s attacks down the left, with Alvaro Carreras combining well with Vinicius. But Real undid their early work with costly defensive errors.
City equalised in the 35th minute from their first real chance, with O’Reilly pounced on Courtois’s rebound and the visitors then grabbed the lead five minutes later, after Ruediger dragged down Haaland inside the box.
Referee Clement Turpin initially allowed play to continue but was advised to check the pitchside monitor by VAR. The German defender’s foul on Haaland was clear, and the Norwegian stepped up to dispatch the penalty with a low shot to Courtois’s right in the 43rd minute for his first ever goal at the Bernabeu.
City finished the first half on the front foot, with Courtois producing excellent saves to deny Haaland and Rayan Cherki from adding to the lead, as Real headed into halftime to a chorus of whistles from their frustrated fans.
Guardiola’s side maintained their control after the break, deploying the pace and flair of Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku to stretch Real Madrid’s defence.
Courtois continued to be the standout performer for Real, stopping Foden and Doku in the 51st and 61st minutes respectively, while City were relentless in seeking a killer third goal.
Real Madrid had chances of their own to equalise, with Endrick coming closest, striking the post in the dying minutes, but Madrid were unable to find the breakthrough as the home crowd’s jeers grew louder with every missed opportunity.
“Such a good feeling. To come here, what an atmosphere, what a stadium, so tough to come here but we got the three points and that’s the most important thing,” O’Reilly told TNT Sports.
