It was another tough night for Real Madrid, who had to face City with Mbappé on the bench. The crowd at the Santiago Bernabéu was unhappy and clearly disappointed by the Blancos’ performance. Los Blancos lost 2-1 against the Citizens, putting Xabi’s position at risk. Manchester City managed to recover after Rodrygo’s goal and earned an important win by taking advantage of two quick chances. Once again, Jeremy Doku stood out and impressed everyone.
On the 10th of December, a struggling Real Madrid played against Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu. Xabi Alonso is in a tough position, managing his first crisis as Real’s manager. Rumors seem to suggest that this match is crucial for him to keep his position at the club, after a string of unsuccessful games. Last week, Los Blancos secured an important victory against Athletic; however, that was the only positive result in La Liga in a long time. After drawing three matches in a row, Xabi’s team was beaten at home by Celta de Vigo. It was time for Les Merengues to redeem themselves against the Citizens.
However, in the Champions League’s league phase, Real Madrid had managed to take home four wins out of their opening five games, positioning themselves second in the table. They had only been defeated by Slot’s Liverpool at Anfield. On the other hand, Pep Guardiola’s team came to Madrid with fewer points than Los Blancos and after a crushing defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in their own backyard. The Premier League team aimed to secure the game to qualify for the next phase of the competition. The two teams have met on several occasions in the last ten years, with Real Madrid winning their last two encounters in the 2024-2025 season.
LINE-UPS
REAL MADRID (4-3-3): Courtois; Valverde, Asencio (79′ Endrick), Rüdiger, Carreras; Tchouameni, Ceballos (67′ Brahim Diaz), Bellingham; Rodrygo, Gonzalo (58′ Guler), Vinicius.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico, Bernardo Silva; Foden (71′ Reijnders), Cherki (71′ Savinho), Doku (88′ Aké); Haaland (70′ Marmoush).
The Champions League clash started in a heated Bernabéu. Just two minutes after kick-off, Matheus Nunes committed a foul, but the decision from VAR was clear: no penalty for Real. In the early stages of the match, Los Blancos seemed more aggressive on the pitch, while Manchester City tried to build up the play. In the 28th minute, Rodrygo broke the deadlock with a precise finish into the bottom corner, set up by Bellingham. The Brazilian attacker was ready to reclaim his spot in the team after being sidelined in the early stage of the season.
However, it didn’t take long for the Citizens to fight back: first, Courtois saved a header from Gvardiol, but immediately after that, he couldn’t save Real from Nico O’Reilly. The number 33 drew the match level with a close-range shot. When the match seemed balanced, suddenly Rüdiger fouled Haaland in the box, conceding a penalty to City. Erling coolly converted from the penalty spot, becoming the player who has scored the most in his first fifty UCL starts: 51 goals in 50 matches.
The two teams started the second half with the same line-ups, but the pace of the game drastically slowed down, with Real Madrid struggling to create chances. Not even the substitutions changed the match, leaving Los Blancos empty-handed. With this victory, the English team secured its spot in the top eight of the competition, reaching 13 points. Real Madrid was overtaken by Manchester City in the table; however, they are still in the top eight with 12 points.
At this point of the season, it seems only reasonable to question whether the result of this match is going to be a turning point for the team and its coach.
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