Manchester City were eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 as Real Madrid won 2-1 thanks to two goals from Vinicius Junior and won 5-1 on aggregate.
Having lost by three goals against Madrid last week, a perfect game is always required at the Etihad Stadium, but that was made impossible after Bernardo Silva received a first-half red card for handball and the resulting penalty was converted by Vinicius Junior.
Thibaut Courtois had to make a series of impressive saves early on, but Pep Guardiola’s insistence that “it’s more important than how well we defend” turned out to be prescient. Fede Valverde, the hero of Madrid’s hat-trick, also missed a big chance early on.
Vinicius did what he couldn’t do in Spain and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma from the spot, ending any realistic hopes of a comeback, but that wasn’t reflected in City’s attitude. They continued to press on and pulled one back before half-time with a goal from Erling Haaland.
City remained ambitious, switching to a 5-1-3 formation and Jeremy Doku came close to scoring the second goal, but his shot was ruled out for offside. Madrid hit back by bringing on Kylian Mbappé, but City still chased them, with Rayan Ayet-Nouri yet another player ruled out.
However, Vinicius had the final say, scoring his second goal in stoppage time after his goal was ruled out by VAR at the last minute. He famously missed out on the Ballon d’Or to Rodri in 2024, with the City crowd mocking him, but the night belonged to him and Madrid.
In context, it was a spirited effort from City, but hopes were dashed by a first-leg comeback and Silva’s red. It will be frustrating because it’s a feeling you’ve gotten used to. This is the third year in a row that Madrid have been eliminated.
There will be questions about Guardiola. His team has failed to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the second consecutive season. The great manager has only left before the top eight in 15 seasons.
The difference between the teams was not as wide as the final score suggested, but the big performance, the big moment, belonged to Real Madrid, as always. The progress of Alvaro Arbeloa’s side. Guardiola and others can only lament the details.
Sunday, March 22nd 4:15pm
4:30pm kickoff
Vinny’s revenge on Man City
Last season, after Vinicius lost out on the Ballon d’Or to City’s Rodri, home supporters at the Etihad Stadium unveiled a banner, a play on a song by Manchester band Oasis, telling the Brazilian forward to “stop crying because your heart is broken”.
The Real Madrid player did not forget to react with tears after scoring a goal in the defeat of the Premier League club.
“The last time I came to Man City, they teased me and said I was crying because of the Ballon d’Or,” Vinicius later explained when speaking to Amazon Prime. “It was a way of proving myself to the Man City fans.”
“We will be back,” Guardiola insists
“The future will be bright. Next year we will be back,” manager Josep Guardiola said at a press conference.
Guardiola did not criticize Silva’s handball attack. “It’s not a mistake. It’s the first red card of his career. It’s not an avoidable decision. I don’t blame the players for that, much less Bernardo.”But there was some frustration.
“Sport is always a challenge and there’s always the feeling that we didn’t have a proper game to see what happened.” He added: “The way we started and the way we played, we want to play 11-on-11. This team punishes you when you make a mistake.”
His own team is still growing. “(Abdukkodir) Kusanov, playing in the Champions League for the first time. (Rayan) Cherki, playing in the Champions League for the first time. Antoine Semenyo, playing in the Champions League for the first time. They need time,” Guardiola insisted.
“My first season (with Man City, where we lost to Monaco in 2017) wasn’t necessarily perfect, it was my first stage out.
“We’re not a perfect team, that’s the reality. We’ve seen Man City teams that had all the aspects that define a team, but we’re still not there.” He then added: “We’re an extraordinary team, but we’re not yet a complete team.”
Asked if he would complete the final year of his contract to oversee the development of this young team, Guardiola declined to do so. “I say ourselves because I’m one of them,” he said, explaining that he would always see City that way, whether he was manager or not.
Asked again about his future, he joked: “Everyone wants to sack me, but I’m still here, on a one-year contract.” However, another chance to win this trophy has disappeared.
“Courtois may be the greatest of all time”
Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa admitted in an interview with Amazon Prime that Thibaut Courtois’ injury was not serious, and when asked about his goalkeeper, said he was “probably the best of all time” after denying City so many goals in the first half.
Commenting on Madrid’s victory, which set up a quarter-final match against Bayern Munich, Arbeloa added: “We beat Man City at home, but we all know how difficult it is to beat Man City. It’s not easy to beat Man City.”
“We knew they wanted to press us. Maybe we should have held the ball a little more, but after the penalty everything changes. It got easier. Bayern Munich will be very difficult.”
The story of the game in terms of statistics…
When is the knockout stage?
Quarterfinals: April 7-8, 14-15 Semi-finals: April 28-29, May 5-6 Final: May 30 (Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary)
