Football writer Tom Hancock analyses the fallout from Manchester City’s 3-2 home defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League playoff.
On the eve of this heavyweight clash of the last two European champions, Pep Guardiola admitted that he was unsure which version of his team would show up.
"We can lose because the opponents are good, but we’ve not been consistent," he acknowledged. "Of course we can perform well [on Tuesday]… but before I can tell you that will happen, I don’t know how we’ll react."
In the end, both versions showed up; this was a real curate’s egg of a performance, typical of City’s frustratingly inconsistent campaign – one which has now yielded 12 defeats in all competitions, the latest of which came after yet another late implosion.
At first, it looked like Guardiola had got the porous Man City who lost 5-1 at Arsenal in their previous league outing, as the hosts were spared three times in quick succession: by the offside flag, by a great Ederson save and by Madrid overplaying it.
But, more positively, the ponderous attack which has too often stunted the Premier League champions’ title defence this season was not present.
Erling Haaland’s deftly finished opener, his 48th UEFA Champions League goal in as many appearances, was exactly the kind of fluidly worked goal we’ve become so accustomed to seeing from Guardiola’s side.
Haaland and Josko Gvardiol were at the heart of the move, combining to great effect down the Man City left and again in the box.
Jack Grealish played his part, too, lofting a perfectly weighted ball for Gvardiol to chest into Haaland’s path, only to see an encouraging display end after just half an hour as he hobbled off injured to be replaced by Phil Foden.
The extent of the problem remains to be seen, but the England international’s wait for a first home Premier League start since 4 December may well go on.
City scored the opening goal for the first time in five games in all competitions and led at half-time for the first time in seven, only to crumble in worryingly familiar fashion after the break, with Kylian Mbappe’s scuffed volley from a floated free-kick drawing Madrid level.
Not for the first time this season, the hosts’ inability to truly control the contest left them vulnerable in transition, something they can ill-afford to be when they welcome a potent Newcastle United attack in the league on Saturday.
In the end, though, it wasn’t that particular vulnerability which stopped Man City from taking a narrow lead into next Wednesday’s second leg at the Bernabeu – which they were on course to do after restoring their lead from the penalty spot through Haaland’s 49th Champions League goal, which moved him level with Alfredo Di Stefano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the competition.
Top scorers in Champions League history
| Player | Goals | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 141 | Kylian Mbappe | 52 |
| Lionel Messi | 129 | Mohamed Salah |
51 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 103 | Thierry Henry | 51 |
| Karim Benzema | 90 | Filippo Inzaghi | 50 |
| Raul | 71 | Alfredo Di Stefano | 49 |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | 60 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 49 |
| Andriy Shevchenko | 59 | Erling Haaland | 49 |
| Thomas Muller | 56 |
First, Man City were cost by someone it’s so easy – and understandable – to think of as infallible: Ederson, whose horribly miscued drop-kick ultimately led to a simple finish for ex-City youngster Brahim Diaz – who refused to celebrate, having made just 15 first-team appearances for the club over three years.
Drawing from the position in which they had found themselves would have been hard to stomach for Man City; losing was incomprehensible – or at least it would have been had they not caved in such a way so many times already in 2024/25.
City have now conceded seven goals in the final 15 minutes of Champions League matches this season, and this collapse was the worst of the lot. It was their first home loss in the competition after leading at half-time since April 2018, when they lost 2-1 to Liverpool in the second leg of a quarter-final tie.
Ederson, perhaps shaken by that uncharacteristic gaffe six minutes earlier, was among the players at fault for Jude Bellingham’s almost comically easy stoppage-time winner, coming off his line too eagerly and finding himself stranded, leaving Bellingham to tap Vinicius Jr's lob into an empty net. That was the 20th shot City had conceded on the night, the most any visiting team have had at the Etihad in the Guardiola era.
"Many times it happens this season," Guardiola acknowledged of his team’s vulnerability. Indeed it was the fifth defeat this season that City had suffered after being in front, the same amount of such losses as over their previous four campaigns combined.
"I know the quality of Real Madrid. We took the game in the second half and tried to attack too quick. It happens because they [Real Madrid] are an exceptional team.
"It happens many times this season. Bad decisions, that's all. I take it. It's not about you and me, it's everyone. Yeah, that is all season [injuries]. But we know it."
When asked about the chances of a turnaround in the second leg, Guardiola was pragmatic. "Of course now it's tough," he said. "We have to recover. I think now about Newcastle and then go to the Bernabeu."
Eddie Howe and Newcastle might just be licking their lips ahead of a game that could have big implications in the enthralling race for Champions League qualification.
A win for the visitors would take them three points above Man City, who head into that fixture having suffered as many defeats in a campaign as they ever have under Guardiola – and they’ve still got at least 16 games to play this season.