Champions League
11 February 2025
Score: 3 – 2
Stadium – Etihad Stadium (Manchester)
First Half Game Analysis (Real Madrid vs Manchester City)
The first leg of two games took place in Etihad Stadium. City fans welcome Real Madrid with the big banner with a kind of insulting message about Ballon d’Or, which was not a good sportsmanship display. It was good to see that Vini did not take it seriously and did not mind and felt offended; this was a good display of sportsmanship and an improved version of himself.
Valverde was leading the team as a captain. The game formation was 4-3-3, and the keeper was Courtois. Mendy, Asencio, and Ceballos were also in the starting line. This was the 30th time the two teams were meeting, and Modric had been in all those games, but this night he was placed as a substitute player.
In the 11th minute, Vini rushed in the opposite half and threw a good pass toward Mbappe on the right, and Mbappe was inside the box and took his shot from the right of the box. But his ball was well blocked by the keeper. It was a good buildup by Vin and Mbappe.
Just after a minute, again with lots of chaos inside the City box, Mendy finally took a shot, unfortunately his shot was well blocked by a defender, and a good chance was missed once again.
In the 19th minute, City led an attack on the left, and the ball was thrown into the Madrid box; one City player chested the ball and passed to Holland, and Holland had no difficulty beating Courtois and scored their 1st goal of the evening. There were 4 City players inside the box while only 3 Madrid defenders could be seen, a lack of strong defensive lapse.
Madrid took their chance in the 25th minute of the game trhough Vini, who was able to penetrate the box and took his goal shot through the crowd of defenders, the ball just hit the cross bar and deflected. It was so close to a goal for Vini.
In the 35th minute, City’s Foden took a long goal shot from the left of the ground outside the box. The shot was a powerful one, but Courtois was able to well block the shot and avoid a dangerous situation. City had a corner immediately; the corner ball was well headed by a City player, which also landed on the crossbar and went out. It too was a close miss by City.
Similarly, in the 43rd minute, Valverde had a long-range shot at the post; the keeper had a slight touch on the ball and sent it for an out ball. Madrid had a corner kick.
The extra time of 4 minutes were added, in the dying minute, just outside the box from the right, Rodrygo passed the ball to Mbappe on the left inside the box, Mbappe took his powerful shot at the box, unfortunately his ball flew above the cross bar for an out ball. This was a disastrous moment for Madrid and Mbappe. The post was wide open with a defender and the keeper, and he had enough time to manage his shot, but still he missed such a golden chance of scoring a goal and leveling the score before halftime.
Manchester City lead by 1 goal to nil against Real Madrid by halftime.
Second Half Game Analysis (Real Madrid vs. Manchester City)
City led an instant attack, and Halland’s left-foot shot aiming for the left corner of the box nearly got success; only the ball hit the crossbar on the edge, missing by inches. This was a good and strong attack, and City could have been in a comfortable position.
In the 53rd minute, from inside the box on the left, Vini threw the ball to Bellingham, who in turn headed the ball; the ball was thrown wide away from the right pole. This was a good attempt by Madrid forwards.
Two minutes later, Rodrygo on the left, inside the box, passed the ball into the center, and Mbappe took a good shot of the ball; again, the keeper blocked the shot instantly. This was a close and one-touch right-foot shot by Mbappe, but without any luck.
In the 59th minute, Madrid had a free kick outside the box in the center. Valverde took the shot, but his strong shot was blocked by the wall, and that deflected ball was received by Ceballos, who threw back the ball into the box where Mbappe lingered. Mbappe decided to use his feet rather than his head, and in the process, his shin hit the ball that sent the ball into the box’s right corner while the keeper was blocking the left of the box area. This was a superb move by Mbappe, and the score was equalized.
Mbappe scores a goal
In the 63rd minute, there was another dangerous attack led by Madrid. The pass was given from the left flank into the center inside the box, but the ball was sent toward the right by the slight touch of a defender. Valverde was rushing from the right, who got that ball and took his right foot powerful shot. The shot missed the box and went past the left pole of the box and out of bounds.
There had been constant attacks at the post of City for the last 15 minutes or so. In the 66th minute, Valverde passed the long ball into the box, and Bellingham took a close shot; the keeper came close and blocked the ball. This too was quite a good opportunity for Madrid to add their 2nd goal and to take a lead in the game.
Just a minute later, again, Mbappe got the ball and took his goal shot that hit the far pole and went out. The linesman, though, pointed out it was an offside case; the replay showed he was clearly offside.
In the 77th minute, Ceballos fouled Foden, a City player, just on the box line, and City was given a penalty kick. Halland scored a penalty goal, sending Courtois toward the wrong side, and City took a lead in the game.
Finally, a chance was blessed to Madrid in the 86th minute of the game. City keeper’s ball clearance was controlled by a Madrid player, and the attack was led on the right flank. Vini inside the box on the right took his shot, and it was well blocked by the keeper. The rebound ball landed at the feet of Brahim, and he did not miss the goal shot. Thus, Madrid equalized with style at the home ground of Manchester City.
An extra time of 4 minutes was added. In the 92nd minute, a loose ball from a City player was exploited by Vini, and as the keeper approached, he flicked the ball over him toward the post and the fast-approaching Bellingham had no problem to push the ball into the box. This was a massive moment for Real Madrid as they scored in the dying minute and won the game.
Bellingham scores a winning goal for RM
As per the comment, this was the first time that Mancherster City had lost a Champions League game at this stadium since 2018. The score stood 3-2 for Real Madrid, and they displayed a good game against their rival team, Manchester City.
Statistics
Real Madrid Manchester City
Goals 3 2
Ball Possession 44% 56%
Total shots 19 10
Shots on target 7 4
Corners 5 6
Fouls 6 8
Total passes 422 490
Saves 2 4
Yellow Cards 0 0