- UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off First Leg] A hat-trick from new signing Omar Marmoush against Newcastle, with Nico Gonzalez, another January recruit, shining in midfield raise hopes City can create an upset against a Real side who have stuttered in recent weeks, surrendering top place in the Spanish table when Barcelona beat Rayo Vallecano on Monday night.
But trailing 3-2 after the first leg of their play-off duel when they continued a worrying trend of surrendering late goals, memories are still painfully fresh of their struggle to overcome League One Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, the 5-1 battering by Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, the 4-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain and the 2-2 draw at Brentford when they conceded a couple of late goals.
A rough trip to Aston Villa, for a match brought forward from next month because Liverpool have reached the Carabao Cup final, is certain to have fans biting their fingernails as pressure builds on the Premier League leaders and two more points may be dropped when the sides are all-square at the final whistle.
Manchester City’s eye-popping 4-0 victory against Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday was the perfect tonic ahead of their daunting trip to the Bernabeu Stadium to face Real Madrid in a must-win Champions League blockbuster.
The Reds have looked shaky in the last couple of weeks, crashing out of the FA Cup at Plymouth before dropping two points at Everton when James Tarkowski thundered in that terrific 98th-minute equaliser, and there were some jittery moments as Wolves pressed for what would have been a deserved equaliser in front of the Kop on Sunday.
