Man City Stun Real With Late Comeback, Ramos Sent Off
27 February, 2020
UEFA Champions League
Result: Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City
Date: 26 February
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu
The Santiago Bernabeu was stunned into silence as Manchester City rallied from behind to defeat Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League last 16 tie.
There have been a couple surprises in both line ups, as Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez started before Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling while Zinedine Zidane opted to leave Toni Kroos on the bench.
After a comparatively quiet opening, Jesus came close to justifying Pep Guardiola's surprise selection after 19 minutes however the Brazilian striker saw his effort brilliantly palmed away by Thibaut Courtouis.
Los Blancos must have broken the deadlock ten minutes later when Ferland Mendy sent a cross to the far post but Karim Benzema saw his header saved by Ederson while Vinicius Junior was unable to convert on the rebound.
Guardiola was forced into a re-shuffle minutes later as Aymeric Laporte's evening ended after 33 minutes because of injury. He was replaced by Fernandinho in the centre of the defence.
Despite the injury set-back, City went agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock right before the break as Jesus' deflected effort was cleared off the line by Valverde.
It had been all Man City in the next half, with Mahrez going close in the opening ten minutes although Courtois was readily available to ensure the scores remained level.
However, it had been Los Blancos who broke the deadlock on the hour mark as Vinicius Junior pounced on an City defensive error before selecting Isco, who slotted into the bottom corner.
With 12 minutes remaining in the contest, the Citizens managed to level matters as Kevin de Bruyne twisted and turned in the box before selecting Jesus, who nodded past Courtois.
City were then awarded a penalty two minutes when second-half substitute Raheem Sterling was brought down by Dani Carvajal, allowing De Bruyne to slot home from 12-yards out.
It went from bad to worse for the home side as captain Sergio Ramos was displayed a straight red card for bringing down Jesus, who was simply through on goal in the 85th minute.
Mendy did go close to bragging an equaliser for Los Blancos with time added on however the Citizens could actually hold on for an essential 2-1 lead to take back to Manchester City.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
TAG(s):