Real Madrid staged a stunning comeback to defeat Manchester City 3-2 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout tie on Tuesday, with Jude Bellingham delivering a dramatic stoppage-time winner for Los Blancos.
Bellingham’s late strike sealed victory as Madrid twice fought back from behind to secure an advantage heading into next week’s return leg in Spain.
Erling Haaland’s brace – his first goals in five appearances against Madrid – seemed to have put Pep Guardiola’s men in a strong position.
However, the reigning European champions turned the game around, leaving City needing a big performance in the second leg to progress.
“It was a weird one. We played some of our best football of the season and ended up behind,” Bellingham told Amazon Prime. “I don’t care what form City are in, they are still an unbelievable team. It’s always tricky to play against them, and we finally took the chance at the end.”
This encounter marks the fourth consecutive season that City and Madrid have crossed paths in the Champions League knockout stage, with the winner of each previous clash eventually lifting the trophy.
City overcame a slow start and broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when Haaland slotted past Thibaut Courtois after Josko Gvardiol cushioned Jack Grealish’s cross into his path.
Vinicius Junior came close to equalizing with a strike that hit the crossbar, while Manuel Akanji rattled the woodwork with a header for City.
Haaland nearly added a second goal early in the second half, but his deflected shot struck the post.
Madrid finally drew level on the hour mark. After a free-kick was blocked by the City wall, Dani Ceballos lofted the ball back into the box, where Kylian Mbappe’s mishit volley looped off his shin and into the net, leaving Ederson helpless.
City regained the lead 10 minutes from time when Haaland converted a penalty after Phil Foden was brought down by Ceballos.
However, Madrid hit back just four minutes later when Brahim Diaz capitalized on a poor clearance from Ederson to equalize.
With the game seemingly heading for a draw, Bellingham pounced on defensive errors to smash home the winner in stoppage time.
“I don’t know how to put it into words straight away, it’s so raw and frustrating for everyone,” said City defender John Stones.
“It’s a feeling of anger and frustration,” he added. “We need to see games out better. We need to step up when these bad moments happen.”
