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Man City Stuns Real Madrid Late, Wins First Leg in UCL Last 16

Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne scored late to give Man City a big win in the Champions League

Avi Creditor

Man City Stuns Real Madrid Late, Wins First Leg in UCL Last 16
Man City Stuns Real Madrid Late, Wins First Leg in UCL Last 16 /

Manchester City is banned–appeal pending–from the next two Champions League campaigns, but the club is still looking to win the current one, and it's off to a good start after flipping the script on Real Madrid.

Man City trailed 1-0 but scored goals in the 78th and 83rd minutes through Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne–and watched Sergio Ramos get sent off after that–to take a 2-1 result at the Bernabeu in the first leg of the round of 16.

The headlining showdown pits Pep Guardiola against Zinedine Zidane in the technical area, and both made some big calls for the opening leg. Guardiola left the likes of Raheem Sterling (fresh off an injury) and Sergio Aguero on the bench, while Zidane did the same with Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and Marcelo. Real Madrid was also without Eden Hazard, who could be done for the season after suffering a leg fracture.

Given it could be City's last chance to make a run at European glory ahead of what could be a couple of tumultuous years ahead, there figured to be an added sense of urgency for the club, something Sergio Ramos addressed in his prematch comments.

Man City came out aggressively, applying pressure from the opening whistle, and an inadvertent deflection from Ferland Mendy nearly gave Bernardo Silva a clear look at goal only for the Portuguese midfielder to have his chance blocked.

Real Madrid broke forward by doing its damage down the wings, with Vinicius Junior particularly a danger. His cross earmarked for Karim Benzema in the 13th minute was on point, but Aymeric Laporte was first to it, beating the veteran striker to the spot to cut out the threat.

Gabriel Jesus put the game's first chance on goal, missing out on giving Man City the lead when Thibaut Courtois made a strong save to deny his effort from inside the box.

Real Madrid had a golden chance of his own eight minutes later, when Benzema had a header parried away by Ederson. Vinicius was in position to fire home the rebound, but the Brazilian teen flubbed his opportunity in front of goal, and the match remained scoreless.

Man City suffered a setback of another kind a couple of minutes later, when Laporte, who missed a good chunk of the season already, was forced off with an injury in the 33rd minute. He was replaced by Fernandinho, a central midfielder by trade who has filled in admirably in the back in Laporte's place.

City piled on the pressure just before the halftime whistle, with Gabriel Jesus's follow-up after a swatted corner kick fell his way being cleared off the line by Sergio Ramos and Casemiro.

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City nearly went ahead five minutes into the second half as well, with De Bruyne sprinting down the center of the field as a one-man counterattack. He found Riyad Mahrez to his right, and the Algerian opted to curl a left-footed chance, one that went well wide, instead of a higher-percentage play, much to Real Madrid's relief. 

Mahrez forced a save from his right with a blast at Courtois in the 56th minute, with Man City continuing to find ways to pressure Real Madrid's back line.

City paid for its wastefulness, with Real Madrid taking the lead at the hour mark. After a defensive giveaway, Vinicius pounced and slipped a square ball for Isco, who beat Ederson from the center of the box to make it 1-0 to Real Madrid.

Man City pushed for an equalizer, and it finally came in the 77th minute. De Bruyne lofted a perfect ball into the box for Gabriel Jesus head down, and he beat Courtois to make it 1-1. City, which has been on the wrong end of VAR decisions on the Champions League stage before, had to wait for confirmation that the striker didn't push off on Sergio Ramos to create space to score, and that confirmation came soon after to validate the even scoreline–and the key away goal for City.

City wasn't content there. Sterling, in off the bench, earned a penalty after a sliding challenge from Dani Carvajal, and De Bruyne converted the spot kick, making it 2-1 Man City in the 83rd minute.

Things got even worse for Real Madrid moments later. Gabriel Jesus pounced on a sloppy ball in Real Madrid's defensive third and took off for goal, but he was tripped up from behind by Sergio Ramos. As the last man back, the Spanish veteran was promptly sent off, ruling him out for the second leg, too.

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Here were the lineups for both sides:

The second leg takes place at Man City's Etihad Stadium on March 17.

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Avi Creditor
AVI CREDITOR

Avi Creditor is a senior editor and has covered soccer for more than a decade. He’s also a scrappy left back. 

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