MANCHESTER City bounced back from a goal down to secure a fine 2-1 UEFA Champions League victory at perennial winners Real Madrid on Wednesday night and leave the LaLiga side’s manager Xabi Alonso in danger of losing his job.
Alonso is under severe pressure following a poor run in the league and a reported clash of culture with his players, and the heat will now be more intense after Real Madrid failed to hold on to their early advantage.
The hosts suffered a blow as leading goalscorer Kylian Mbappe was deemed only fit enough to be on the bench, but the France captain did not make an appearance as his team-mates fell to a demoralising defeat.
City almost suffered a nightmare start when Matheus Nunes tripped Vinicius Jr inside the first two minutes and the referee pointed to the spot, but then awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box after consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR).
Federico Valverde almost converted the resulting effort but his drilled shot deflected narrowly wide, while the sprightly Vinicius dinked wide at the far post shortly after.
It seemed like City had weathered the early storm and were controlling the possession, before being hit on the break as Rodrygo collected Jude Bellingham’s cross-field pass and rifled in his first goal since March.
City were behind for just seven minutes as the visitors scored with their first clear opportunity of the contest, academy left-back Nico O’Reilly poking home from close range after Josko Gvardiol’s header was scooped back into the danger zone by Thibaut Courtois.
The English side turned the game around on the stroke of half-time courtesy of Erling Haaland’s penalty after the striker was bundled over in the box by Antonio Rudiger.
Real attempted to draw level in the second half, with Bellingham chipping over and substitute Endrick flicking a header which clipped the crossbar, but City held on for a tremendous victory.
In Belgium, Super Eagles midfielder Ralph Onyedika was in action for Club Brugge, but it was Noni Madueke who stole the show.
Madueke, the England forward with Nigerian heritage, scored twice as Arsenal beat the hosts 3-0 to maintain their 100% record in the Champions League and all but secure their place in the knockout phase.
Mikel Arteta made five changes to the side that lost to Aston Villa on Saturday and it was one of those players, Madueke, who opened the scoring with an excellent strike.
The England winger shrugged off one defender before smashing a shot from 20 yards which went in off the crossbar.
Club Brugge did threaten Arsenal’s much-changed backline just before the break but David Raya made smart saves from Christos Tzolis and Aleksandar Stankovic to keep the Gunners in the lead.
Madueke got his second goal of the evening just two minutes into the second half when he nodded in Martin Zubimendi’s excellent cross, and Gabriel Martinelli ensured it would be a comfortable end to the game when he curled in a superb strike in the 56th minute for Arsenal’s third.
There were also other positives for the Gunners as Gabriel Jesus made his first appearance for 342 days, after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and 16-year-old Marli Salmon was brought on for his first-team debut.
And Jesus almost made it the perfect comeback but his strike from the edge of the area late on hit the bar.
The win leaves Arsenal on 18 points, two more than was required for a top-eight finish last season, meaning they are likely to avoid the play-offs in February and can prepare for the round of 16.
In other Champions League clashes on the night, Athletic Bilbao and holders Paris Saint-Germain played out a 0-0 draw in Spain, Bayer Leverkusen scored late to draw 2-2 at home to Newcastle United, Jose Mourinho’s Benfica defeated Napoli 2-0 in Portugal, and Juventus eased past Pafos 2-0 in Turin.
RESULTS
Qarabag 2-4 Ajax
Villarreal 2-3 FC Copenhagen
Athletic Club 0-0 Paris
Leverkusen 2-2 Newcastle
Benfica 2-0 Napoli
Club Brugge 0-3 Arsenal
Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Bodo/Glimt
Juventus 2-0 Pafos
Real Madrid 1-2 Man City
With agency reports