Manchester City must beat Real Madrid next week to progress in the Champions League after throwing away a 2-1 lead with four minutes remaining in the first leg at the Etihad.
With a fully-stocked defence for the first time this season, City looked more like their old selves and took the lead when Erling Haaland converted Josko Gvardiol’s chest down after good play from Jack Grealish.

Manu Akanji and Grealish had to go off through injury and Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser off his shin added some nerves in the second half. But Phil Foden’s jinking run won a penalty for Haaland to convert late on only for Brahim Diaz’s goal against his former club and Jude Bellingham’s injury-time winner to leave City with an almighty test next week.

Ruben Dias gave an Iberian flick of the wrists in frustration as Jude Bellingham celebrated his winner, and most City teammates just stood in disbelief. Erling Haaland was seething.

When the final whistle blew moments later, Haaland turned to the tunnel and started walking. He offered a handshake to the passing Carlo Ancelotti, and looked angry at something Kylian Mbappe said on the way past.

Then he headed to the dressing room, ignoring anyone else and ensuring he was the first there. City’s Portuguese players consoled Ederson, who had played brilliantly for large parts but was beaten by Vinicius to knock the ball into Bellingham’s path.
And as City’s beaten men trudged into the dressing room, it was Rodri who was waiting to shake the hands of each player and substitute in sympathy. Even without playing, he was there to offer support.
After the squad had departed, Vinicius Jr grinned like a Cheshire cat holding up his UEFA Player of the Match award. Finally, a trophy for the Brazilian – and maybe a place in the Champions League knockouts.

It isn’t set in stone, but you often see away teams jog out first to warm up at the Etihad, followed by City’s starters and then their substitutes over a leisurely period of time. But this was not like any other game, and Real Madrid like to make a point of doing things their way.
They release their team an hour before they have to and have no issue in doing so, and only gave themselves a 15 minute warm-up at the Etihad – coming out long after City had begun theirs.
They jogged past Rodri, who was on the touchline watching the City warm-ups with the ineligible Vitor Reis. Real have made it clear what they think about Rodri’s Ballon d’Or win, and Rodri made a point of staring at the Real players who were only focussed on running in the other direction.

City treated this warm-up more seriously, too. There was no sporadic arrival of substitutes, with all 23 squad players coming out at the same time to show a united front. It felt like a group of players treating the game like it was bigger than the usual Etihad fixture.

If City could try and distance themselves from the antagonistic ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ banner depicting Rodri kissing his Ballon d’Or (despite having the ability to veto it), they had full control over the decision to play Freed From Desire as the final song over the PA system before kick-off.

Cue a stadium-wide rendition of ‘Rodri’s on Fire’. Then the banner was unfurled across the whole of the South Stand. Rodri got his phone out to take a picture – an image that itself went viral.
Pep Guardiola said the subject was over, but the pre-match antics suggested it wasn’t quite.

Vinicius Jr was roundly booed whenever he got the ball for his role in the Ballon d’Or feud and there were huge cheers when he lost the ball in the opening stages. ‘Where’s your Ballon d’Or?’ asked the City faithful throughout the evening.
Grealish’s telling reaction
Jack Grealish opened up on the difficulties of 2024 on and off the pitch this week, hoping for a better 2025. January followed the pattern of the previous year, but February has seen a recall to the starting line up and a surprise vote of confidence against Real.

It felt like 2023 all over again with Guardiola’s team selection and that could only be a good thing for Grealish. That was, until he went down on his haunches and signalled to come off – never a good sign.

And Grealish looked devastated when he passed Guardiola and headed down the tunnel with a slight limp. He knew his big chance to produce in a big game, therefore proving his worth again to Guardiola, was gone in that moment.
Last season when a similar thing happened at Luton he was in tears on the bench and you would not blame him for a similar reaction in the dressing room. This was another enforced step back in a season that continues to frustrate.