10-man Blues exit Champions League despite valiant effort

The Blues, 3-0 down from the first leg, came racing out of the blocks looking for the goal that could possibly spark a memorable come back.

But a combination of keeper Thibaut Courtois and several near misses kept the score goalless until a penalty that resulted in Bernardo’s dismissal - and a goal for Madrid on 20 minutes - made an arduous task near impossible.

But City never gave up hope, and deservedly levelled the scores on 41 minutes through Erling Haaland and saw Jeremy Doku and Ryan Ait-Nouri  have goals disallowed after the break.

It was always going to be a big ask, but the Blues couldn’t have tried much harder and Vinicius Jr scoring with the last kick to give the Spaniard’s a 2-1 victory felt incredibly harsh.

The game in 250 words

It was a breathless, almost manic start to the game.

With barely a minute on the clock, Federico Valverde found himself with just Gianluigi Donnarumma to beat, but he shot weakly at the City keeper.

The Blues immediately went up the other end and Rayan Cherki saw a fierce shot beaten out by Thibaut Courtois.

Rodri then had a shot saved on five minutes, before Tijjani Reijnders was teed up moments later, but saw his goal-bound effort blocked in the box.

It had been a ferocious start to the game, but City hadn’t managed to find that crucial goal.

The match turned on its head with 17 played as Vinicius Jr struck the inside of the post and from the resulting scramble, Vinicius Jr again struck the ball towards goal and Bernardo managed to block the shot – but after a lengthy VAR check, he was adjudged  to have used his arm and was shown a straight red card as a result.

Vinicius Jr sent Donnarumma the wrong way to put the Spaniards ahead.

City almost levelled six minutes later when the electric Jeremy Doku found Haaland in the six-yard box, but Courtois somehow kept his shot.

The Blues kept coming and when Haaland saw a low shot pushed out by Courtois, Rodri blazed the rebound over the bar.

It was relentless, breathless stuff.

Madrid were a constant threat on the counter and perhaps should have added to their lead before City finally levelled after brilliant work by Doku who saw Haaland turn in his cross with 41 played.

It wasn’t quite game on -but it was a glimmer of hope.

After the break, City kept knocking on the door, believing there was a way back into the tie - something that will have delighted Pep Guardiola - and certainly delighted a hugely appreciative home crowd

Doku and Ait-Nouri were denied goals by the flag of the assistant referee - correctly - that would have made the final 20 minutes or so interesting, but it wasn’t to be.

Vinicius Jr scored with the last kick of the game to make it 2-1 for the visitors, though it felt incredibly harsh given the Blues’ heroic efforts.

TEAMS

CITY: Donnarumma, Nunes (Semenyo 57), Khusanov, Dias (Guéhi 46), Ait-Nouri, Rodri (Nico 74), Bernardo (C), Reijnders (Ake 46), Cherki, Doku, Haaland (Marmoush 57)

Subs: Trafford, Stones, Kovacic, Savinho, O’Reilly, Foden, Lewis

REAL MADRID:  Courtois (Lunin 46), Alexander-Arnold (Carvajal 83), Rudiger, Huijsen, F. Garcia, Valverde (C), Thiago (Manuel Angel 74), Tchouameni, Gule (Camavinga 84), Brahim (Mbappe 69), Vinicius

Subs: Alaba,Gonzalo, Carreras, Mastantuono, Aguado, Cestero, Palacios

Attendance: 51,103

Khusanov is a diamond

Watching Abdukodir Khusanov develop into a world class defender has been a joy for all City fans.

The Uzbek youngster is rapidly becoming impossible to drop for Pep Guardiola and against Real Madrid, he showed time and time again what an outstanding prospect he is.

He saved the Blues on numerous occasions with his electric pace, strength and wonderfully-timed tackling.

He only turned 22 a few weeks ago, yet he has shown maturity beyond the years and is likely to get better and better.

This was an outstanding display by a very talented footballer.

Pep reaction

“Last season I had the feeling next season we will be better in this one.

“Now the fact that I said when we lost 5-1 on aggregate it will be better it doesn’t mean it is going to happen.

“I know them and the quality they have but the season is so long and it’s about the balance of the team.

“We have many things to improve but at the end you have pride. 70 mins, 10 v 11 is not easy.

“Jeremy, Erling Rodri and Khusanov, everyone made their contributions and was absolutely there. We are not a complete team and that is the reality.

“I’ve been a team at City that was a team in all aspects that define a team and still we are not but we have a final on Sunday, FA Cup is still here and we have a Premier League still to fight.

“We’ll try to fight and prepare good decisions for next season. We’ll be back”.

DOKU reaction

“We’re disappointed. Even at 10 against 11 we did well, so we can be proud, but unfortunately we didn’t win.

“We gave our all and look you play against a big team like that and 10 against 11 and you’re still creating the problems, chances, so fair play to the players for their effort today.

“We were very happy with the fans today, they really pushed us, even when we were 10 against 11, they pushed us.

“Even after 1-0 they pushed us and it was a massive help for us, so I want to thank them.”

What it means...

City exit the Champions League for the 2025/26 season.

Real Madrid win the tie 5-1 on aggregate.

This young and relatively inexperienced side will have learned much from their efforts this campaign and will look forward to next season’s competition with the Blues looking highly likely to secure a top four finish.

What’s next?

The big games keep coming.

City take on Arsenal this Sunday (22 March) at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final.

The match kicks off at 16:30 (UK) and will be followed by a two-week international break.

A win over the Gunners would be the perfect fillip after our Champions League exit.