Manchester City fell behind before turning things around to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the big match of the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Thursday, December 11, 2025 in the morning WIB. Madrid's defeat to Man City put coach Xabi Alonso under pressure.
Alonso became increasingly depressed after Madrid lost their second consecutive defeat at home. In the previous match at LaLiga Spain, Madrid unexpectedly had to admit Celta Vigo's 2-0 advantage.
An embarrassing defeat because it was experienced at the Santiago Bernabeu. More than that, Madrid failed to close the distance between points and leaders of the Barcelona standings.
After the defeat in the domestic competition, Alonso hopes that his team will rise when they host Man City in that big match. Moreover, Madrid actually had a good, tight meeting record. Last season, in the Champions League playoffs, Madrid always won (3-2, 3-1) over Man City. This is what makes Los Merengues have good capital when they return to face this Premier League team.
But the results picked were disappointing. Despite starting the match well and winning first, Madrid was finally forced to give up by Man City. The penalty for Erling Haaland became the determinant of the Cityzens' victory.
The victory made Man City managed to move up to fourth place as well as open up opportunities to qualify automatically for the Champions League knockout round. Now, Pep Guardiola's team has pocketed 13 points.
Meanwhile, Madrid, which has 12 points, fell to seventh position. Although still standing in the top eight, Madrid's position received threats and could still be thrown out of the safe zone automatically. In addition, Alonso was under increasingly heavy pressure. Moreover, the team's performance has decreased. At the end of the match, Alonso and his team received asuit from supporters who were disappointed with Madrid's achievements.
In that match, Alonso actually faced difficulties because he could not imitate the best squad. The back sector lost defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen who were injured again. Likewise Eduardo Camavinga is still grappling with hinge injuries.
Finally, the mainstay player on the front lines, Kylian Mbappe, is doubtful. The captain of the French national team has finally entered the squad. However, Mbappe only sat on the bench and Alonso did not play.
When he couldn't field Mbappe, the position of the forward center was filled with young Gonzalo Garcia stars. He received support from Brazil's duo Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior.
However, the formation went well. Even Madrid have the opportunity to get a penalty after Vinicius Jr was brought down by Matheus Nunes in the box in the early minutes of the match. However, after reviewing the incident via VAR, the referee assessed that the violation occurred outside the penalty box so there were no penalties.
Midfielder Federico Valverde who carried out the free-kick almost broke into Man City's goal. Only Valverde's shot was played as a defender to overcome the crisis behind this widening.
Madrid then returned to pressure. The host's efforts finally paid off when Rodrygo successfully broke into Man City's goal in the 28th minute. The goal started with defender Alvaro Carreras who managed to beat Bernardo Silva in the fight for the ball. He gave the ball to Jude Bellingham.
The England national team midfielder then provided an assist to Rodrygo who finished with a shot into the far corner without being reached by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Madrid's only 1-0 advantage did not last long. Man City was able to rise. Their efforts to exert pressure also paid off when Nico O'Reliance broke the deadlock in the 35th minute. Starting from Josko Gvardiol's header which welcomed a corner and could actually have been thwarted by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. However, he failed to secure the ball that went wild and was immediately grabbed by O'nill.
The score changed to a 1-1 draw. Madrid took the initiative to attack again. However, Man City, who finally managed to break into Courtois' goal for the second time.
This time, defender Antonio Rudiger who committed violations against Haaland in the forbidden box. After a long review of VAR, the referee pointed to the spot. Haaland also calmly tricked Courtois into leading Man City 2-1 in the 43rd minute. It also became Haaland's 50th goal during 51 appearances in the Champions League.
Entering the second half, Man City took the initiative to attack. They even had a good chance through Rayan Cherki. It's just that his kick, which had turned a direction, Courtois could still thwart.
Furthermore, Madrid tried to put pressure on him. Bellingham had a good chance but his shot still bounced over the crossbar. Likewise, the efforts of Rudiger and substitute Endrick still failed so Madrid could not equalize the score. Until the game was over, Man City was able to maintain a 2-1 advantage.
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