Man City 2-3 Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham scores late winner after Erling Haaland's brace to hand Spanish giants the advantage in blockbuster Champions League tie Manchester City started the match with a rebuke to the 15-times champions of Europe.
Nor was there any chance for Kyle Walker, who has moved on loan to AC Milan, to renew his compelling rivalry with Vinicius Jr. Walker’s pace got City out of trouble against the quicksilver Madrid forward time after time in the past.
Phil Foden was brought down by Dani Ceballos and Erling Haaland smashed home the subsequent penalty to put City back in front but they could not hold on.
Much has been made of the injuries that City have suffered this season but if there was a solitary reason for any sort of optimism among their fans before the kick-off, it was that Madrid had also been plunged into what their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, called ‘an emergency situation’.
And just when it seemed it was only a matter of time until Madrid scored, City scored instead.
