The Santiago Bernabeu erupted just before the half-hour mark as Rodrygo fired the hosts ahead, but O’Reilly struck back 10 minutes prior to the interval, finishing instinctively from close-range after Thibaut Courtois had parried Josko Gvardiol’s header.
Two minutes before the break, we completed the comeback with Erling Haaland stroking in his 55th Champions League goal from the penalty spot after being fouled inside the box by Antonio Rudiger.
GALLERY: O’REILLY ON TARGET IN MADRID!
Jude Bellingham dinked over from a promising position in the second-half, before Endrick’s header struck the bar, as the hosts pushed for a leveller, whilst Jeremy Doku was denied expertly by the sprawling Courtois as we threatened to extend our lead in a goalless second-half.
“Very special, I’m over the moon with it,” said O’Reilly in an interview after the game when asked about his goal.
“This goal will be with me forever. The most important thing was the three points and that’s what we got. Erling’s been giving me a few tips!
“It’s such a good feeling. What an atmosphere it is and what a stadium it is, it’s so tough to come and play here.
“We got three points, that’s the most important thing. I’m loving it, taking it all in my stride. Every game as it comes, working hard every session, I’m enjoying it and I’m loving it.
“The first few minutes I was a bit slow, I could have stopped the first goal, but I made up for it in the end.”
The victory takes City up to 13 points from our six League Phase matches, meaning our top-eight hopes remain in our own hands with two games left to play.
O’Reilly believes that the spirit and fight shown in Madrid compliments the side’s current impressive form across all competitions.
“We know how good Real Madrid are. The history we’ve had, we’ve played them over the last few seasons. They’re so good.
“So playing here and winning shows how good we are playing at the minute and the form we’re on.”
