In a night of high drama at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid produced another astonishing Champions League comeback to overturn a first-leg deficit and eliminate Manchester City from the competition. Trailing 2-1 from their trip to the Etihad Stadium, the defending European champions roared back with late goals from Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory and a place in the quarter-finals.
Early Haaland Heroics
It had all started so promisingly for Pep Guardiola’s Premier League winners. Erling Haaland, the Norwegian goal machine who has taken English football by storm, fired the visitors into a 2-1 lead with a quickfire first-half double. His ruthless finishing seemed to have City in control and on course for a statement victory.
We played a great match but it’s always tough at the Bernabeu. We are sad, but this competition is unkind like that.
– Pep Guardiola, Manchester City Manager
Madrid’s Miraculous Fightback
But this is Real Madrid, the kings of the Bernabeu, a club with European soccer’s fiercest winning mentality encoded in its DNA. And for the umpteenth time, just when a Champions League tie looked lost, Los Blancos summoned reserves of grit, belief and sheer willpower to turn the tables in the most dramatic fashion.
First, on 86 minutes, it was local lad Brahim Diaz, once of the Manchester City academy, who swept home a precious equalizer for 2-2. The Bernabeu erupted, the momentum shifted seismically, and with extra time looming, Madrid scented blood.
🎙️ “See you in Manchester!”
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) December 20, 2022
🤨 Carlo Ancelotti. pic.twitter.com/rD4TI4IYiO
Bellingham Seals City’s Fate
Then, in the 89th minute, up stepped Jude Bellingham, the English wunderkind who at just 20 years old is already Madrid’s midfield general. Receiving the ball 30 yards from goal, he glided forward and unleashed an unstoppable drive into the top corner. Bedlam in the Bernabeu, despair for Manchester City.
- 6 comebacks – Real Madrid have come from behind to win 6 Champions League knockout ties since 2015
- 14 titles – The Spanish giants have now won the European Cup/Champions League a record 14 times
Ominous Injuries for City
To compound Guardiola’s misery, he lost key players Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland to injury during the bruising encounter. With a Premier League race to focus on, and Arsenal in ominous form, those losses could prove costly for City at a crucial stage of the season.
The injuries to Jack and Erling are a big blow, but we will recover and go again. All credit to Madrid, they are a special team on these nights.
– Bernardo Silva, Manchester City Midfielder
Bellingham Sees Red
There was still time for a final dramatic twist, as tempers boiled over in injury time. Jude Bellingham, Madrid’s hero minutes earlier, was sent off for his part in a mass brawl sparked by an altercation with City’s Rodri. The England midfielder will now miss the first leg of Madrid’s quarter-final, a bitter footnote to his decisive contribution.
Madrid March On
So the Champions League has delivered yet another logic-defying Real Madrid comeback. For all their domestic dominance, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are still waiting to be crowned European champions. They’ll have to wait another year at least.
As for Los Blancos, Carlo Ancelotti’s history-makers march on, their aura of invincibility in this competition firmly intact. Paris, Milan and Munich will have taken note – the road to this year’s Champions League title still runs through the Bernabeu.
