Manchester City

Emily Brobyn
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Real Madrid against Manchester City has become one of the Champions League's biggest rivalries. A fixture that always delivers on drama - a game that always involves high stakes.

For some, the stakes could not have been higher on Wednesday evening at the Bernabeu. but the way the 90 minutes played out was poetry in motion for City – akin to Rudyard Kipling's If.

A tale about resilience and virtue, both qualities that were needed to overturn Europe's serial winners.

As the poem goes: 'If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs' and with one win in five La Liga games, Xabi Alonso was under real pressure to deliver.

It should be pointed out that while City were facing Los Blancos for the 15th time, this is still a Pep Guardiola side in transition.

Young players were at the Bernabeu for the first time and stepping into a cauldron of expectation where the home fans are running low on patience.

Yet while chaos reigned for Real, the visitors stayed calm, composed and diligent in their defending and came from behind to secure the points.

Despite being decimated in defence and Kylian Mbappe only making the bench, Real still boasted a line-up littered with megastars.

Familiar protagonist Rodrygo scored his obligatory goal against City and Vinicius Junior huffed and puffed, but it was north Manchester's own Nico O'Reilly who walked away with the player of the match award.

Not only did the 20-year-old score the equaliser, he was involved in vital clearances and was consistent in City's counter-attacking.

Celebrating one of their own is familiar territory for City fans – Stockport's Phil Foden is testament to that. Victory tastes even sweeter when a local lad and academy graduate has been so paramount to the win and so it was a night to toast Moston's O'Reilly.

Unfazed in one of the most overawing stadiums in the world, the midfielder-turned-left-back's controlled performance was vital to City coming away with all three points.

Real Madrid may be directing their own soap opera but O'Reilly lived out one of literature's most timeless poems:

'Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, Nico,

And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son.'

Emily Brobyn is regularly on BBC Radio Manchester - find all their Man City audio here

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Josko Gvardiol says Nico O'Reilly continues to defy his tender age on the highest stage after Manchester City's 2-1 win against Real Madrid.

O'Reilly, 20, was City's first goalscorer of the night and commenting on his junior team-mate, Gvardiol said: "I'm super proud of him. He's young, but to be honest with you, two days ago I was thinking when I see him playing next to me, I feel like he's 30.

"I think he has a quality. There's a reason he's in the starting XI. He can do such a big things in his career."

Gvardiol believes his team "deserved to win" against Los Blancos and said the comeback was a result of the "mentality we have".

He said: "It's simple - If you are losing, it's not game over, you know? You want to come back, you want to fight. And yes, one goal from corner kick and penalty from Erling.

"I think we could have scored one more at least, but that's football. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes not. At the end, 2-1, I think was more than enough."

When asked about using the result as a platform to go on a winning run, Gvardiol said: "Yes, I think so. I think we're doing good.

"We go game by game, not to look too far ahead. And we have a good team, obviously.

"We have amazing players on the bench, who are more than ready to come in, as we could see today. So I think we have a good team and we want a fight."

We asked for your views on Manchester City's 2-1 Champions League win over Real Madrid.

Here are some of your comments:

Mark: Terrific result for the boys in blue, not many English teams come to the Bernabeu and win.

Geoff: Quite a comfy win against Madrid - should have been more for City!

Richard: Absolutely superb result. I had mixed feelings about this game. It was huge due to the loss against Leverkusen, but we played so well. The confidence that will be generated will be huge and hopefully settle our brittle defence down. All the talk of Madrid's weak side is nonsense - they still had a really strong team out there, but we won and that's all that matters. Well done Blues .

CF: What a first Champions League goal Nico O'Reilly! An equaliser, against Real Madrid, at the Bernabeu, while defending against Rodrigo. City academy proving itself to be amongst the elite of Europe. Never mind the World Cup squad, he is on the brink of the starting line-up!

Allan: An important win and excellent three points. Outstanding performances by O'Reilly, Doku, and Gonzalez.

Nige: Good and deserved win - however, if Madrid were half the team they usually are we'd have lost. Far too sloppy in possession and lacked focus and concentration at times. The ref, who is usually brilliant, let Madrid get away with far too much yet was trigger happy with cards for us. Essentially, a good win and it's in our hands to finish in the top eight and qualify.

Joe M: Good result. Looks like the title and Champions League double are on! Up the Blues!

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It might be Manchester City's goalscoring that has meant they can keep pace with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, but it was a solid defensive performance that caught the eye of former Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate after Tuesday's 2-1 win in the Bernabeu.

City conceded first to a Rodrygo strike, but that was the only shot on target mustered by Real as City recovered well and limited the Spanish giants to very few clear cut chances.

"They were really solid, especially across the back," Woodgate told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"It was difficult for Nico O'Reilly at times but he stuck to his task and did really well.

"He will have learned so much from this game because he stuck to his task defensively even when things were tough and when he got forward he did so with purpose and scored his goal.

"I thought [Josko] Gvardiol, [Ruben] Dias and [Matheus] Nunes were immense in the game and then when [Nathan] Ake came on as well I thought he was really good.

"That's what you need when you're coming away to these big teams in world football - you need to be strong at the back, be resolute, and defend with a real desire to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

"City did really well in the game. Some of the positions the defenders got into when heading balls were really good. They were exceptional at the back.

"Dias and Gvardiol led by example by heading every ball into the box away. "

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Former Premier League midfielder Leon Osman says Manchester City won their game against Real Madrid thanks to the excellence of Nico O'Reilly and Jeremy Doku on the left-hand side.

Watch on BBC iPlayer

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

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Real Madrid and Manchester City have become familiar foes in the Champions League, defining this particular era of the competition by facing each other for the 15th time and the fifth consecutive campaign.

City faced a hostile Real crowd which made their feelings known before kick-off, jeering and whistling ex-Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola's name when it was read out by the stadium announcer.

But the Spaniard and his side will be highly satisfied in gaining a measure of revenge following their play-off stage defeat here in February, with Guardiola now losing only seven of his 28 meetings against his fierce foe.

City started nervously in the Spanish capital and went behind but showed excellent character in the cauldron of the Bernabeu to recover, keep their cool and see out the contest.

Academy product Nico O'Reilly never seems to put a foot wrong and scored a dream equaliser to drag his side back into the contest on 35 minutes, while defensively he won three tackles and contributed four important clearances.

The ever-reliable Erling Haaland made no mistake with his penalty to score his 55th Champions League goal, with no player managing more since his debut in the competition for RB Salzburg in 2019.

Jeremy Doku could have made it a more comfortable scoreline but saw his low shot pushed wide by Courtois at full stretch, and ultimately it did not matter.

City recovered from their shock defeat by Bayer Leverkusen last time out and climb to fourth, while they will be confident of claiming an all-important top-eight place with matches to come against Bodo/Glimt and Galatasaray.

Image source, Getty Images

Pep Guardiola spoke to TNT Sports after Manchester City's victory against Real Madrid: ""Could be better. So difficult here. Four or five players played for the first time here. Winning here we have to be happy in terms of points especially. We have 13 and it's in our hands to finish in the top eight. That's the target and winning here after Leverkusen is good.

"Matheus [Nunes] was good. Full-backs, Rayan Cherki first time playing here. Nico [O'Reilly] incredible performance. Jeremy [Doku] helped us a lot with many things. We started with a mistake but I was expecting them to press higher but they dropped and we found it hard. But we take it.

"Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, [Jude] Bellingham, great players. The pace they have up front is so dangerous, that's why you can't stay high you have to be committed int defence. We lacked a little bit so we can improve."

On Erling Haaland: "His numbers speak for itself. We have to find him more, he has to be involved in the game. In the last couple of games he hasn't been in the game so we have to find a way to find him more."

On this win boosting confidence to win the Champions League: "We are not ready. We are away. In February we will be better. These kind of games, we have been here before and played better and lost. The players made a big effort but we still have much to improve."

Nico O'Reilly also spoke to TNT: "Such a good feeling. To come here, what an atmosphere, what a stadium, so tough to come here but we got the three points and that's the most important thing.

"Very special - over the moon. This goal will be with me forever but we got the three points and that's the most important thing."

On increased game time: "I'm loving it, taking it all in my stride, every game as it comes. Working hard every session and I'm loving it.

"We know how good Real are, we've played them over the last few seasons and they're so good. It shows how well we're playing at the minute and our form. We'll have a good chance [to reach the final].

"First few minutes I was a bit slow, I could've stopped that first goal, but I made up for it I think."

Listen to more of Guardiola on BBC Sounds

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views here

Come back to this page on Thursday to find a selection of your replies

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Real Madrid have been dealt a huge blow with Kylian Mbappe deemed only fit enough for the bench.

Under-pressure Xabi Alonso makes three changes from Sunday's defeat by Celta Vigo here.

Rodrygo comes in for Mbappe, with former Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger returning to the side in place of Eder Militao. The other change sees ex-Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos come in for Arda Guler in midfield.

England international Jude Bellingham starts for the home side.

Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Asencio, Rudiger, Carreras, Garcia, Ceballos, Tchouameni, Valverde, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola would love to get one over on Real Madrid and names the same starting line-up as the one that beat Sunderland on Saturday.

It means the likes of Omar Marmoush, Savinho and Tijjani Reijnders have to make do with a place on the bench.

Manchester City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly, Gonzalez, Silva, Foden, Cherki, Doku, Haaland.

There are nine games in the Champions League on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Qarabag v Ajax (17:45)

• Villarreal v Copenhagen (17:45)

• Athletic Club v Paris St-Germain

• Bayer Leverkusen v Newcastle

• Benfica v Napoli

• Borussia Dortmund v Bodo/Glimt

• Club Brugge v Arsenal

• Juventus v Pafos

• Real Madrid v Man City - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 20:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Real Madrid v Man City".

Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Real Madrid and Manchester City meet once again as the most familiar of foes in recent Champions League seasons. This will be the 15th time they have faced each other since their first meeting in 2012-13 – the most-played fixture in the competition during this period.

City lost to Real in both legs of last season's knockout play-off – the same number of defeats they had sustained in the previous 11 encounters. This knockout loss in February included a 3-1 defeat at the Bernabeu. It means that Pep Guardiola is winless on his past four visits to face Real, conceding 10 goals in total.

The quirk on this occasion is that Guardiola does not face Carlo Ancelotti but Xabi Alonso - and the two have never met as managers.

Did you know?

• Real come into this match having lost 2-0 to Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu on Sunday, which ended a run of 11 successive wins at home. They had three players sent off during the defeat.

• Real have scored in their past 38 home Champions League matches – the third-longest scoring streak in the history of the European Cup, after Real themselves (44 games) and Juventus (45 games).

Image source, Getty Images

Key Real players - Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe

Midfielder Bellingham drew media criticism following his reaction to being substituted during England's World Cup qualifying win over Albania, leading to Ian Wright's strong comment that some people are not "ready for a black superstar". Bellingham started Real's last Champions League game at Olympiacos on the bench.

Meanwhile, Mbappe has scored 25 goals in just 21 games this season - including nine in five Champions League games, tying Cristiano Ronaldo's club record for his opening five appearances. He scored all four in the 4-3 win at Olympiacos on 26 November, and has seven goals and one assist in seven Champions League games against Manchester City.

Real Madrid squad summary

Los Blancos are having a defensive crisis at the moment, with Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ferland Mendy all out. Meanwhile, Dean Huijsen and David Alaba are also doubts for this fixture.

Antoine Semenyo is wary about joining Manchester City, with Tottenham and Arsenal also interested. However, Liverpool is the forward's preferred destination. (Sun), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's' full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva rejected claims that they are a club in crisis, insisting the narrative around their season does not reflect the wider picture.

Speaking before playing Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, Silva pointed towards the team's gradual evolution since August, arguing that City are beginning to find the rhythm and cohesion that typically define their surge in the second half of the season.

City are second in the Premier League and remain within striking distance of leaders Arsenal, but their form has been scrutinised after a flat 2–0 defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, which means they go into this matchweek eighth in the group stage table.

"I don't think we are having a bad season, but there are some games where we didn't perform as well as we should," Silva said. "So we are definitely looking forward to arriving in the final stages of the season with a team that is much better than in August.

"We have seen improvement. We are, right now, playing and performing much better than the first month before the international break. The team has been growing a lot, and we are improving day by day.

"We are two points away from Arsenal and we are in a good position in the Champions League. The team is performing well. Even if the [Bayer] Leverkusen game was quite disappointing and the Newcastle game was difficult to take because of the way it was, but if you look at the last two months, points-wise, it's been really good."

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Champions League game against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• John Stones has picked up an injury and not travelled with the squad: "Leg, I don't know yet."

• Guardiola made clear that he rejects the narrative suggesting he only ever comes up against Real Madrid "when they're vulnerable", stressing that he does not agree with that assessment.

• On looking for the Real Madrid fixture: "When I was in Barcelona. absolutely. Madrid is a special part of my life as a football player and a manager, and in a good way. I learn a lot from good and bad moments, win or lose, and it has been part of my growth as a football player or manager."

• He also sympathised with counterpart Xabi Alonso's situation at Real Madrid, pointing out "many players are injured", but expressed full confidence in Alonso's ability to manage the demands of the job, noting that Real and Barcelona are the "toughest" environments in football.

• On what beating Real Madrid would mean: "We are in the group stage. It would be completely different if we were in the last 16 or semi-final. It's different from last season with all the injuries." He added that "many of the players have to experience" playing against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu.

• Expanding on this, Guardiola highlighted how different his own side is this season compared with previous campaigns, given the absence of experienced figures like "Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker".

• On Alonso's team resembling his: "His teams are impressive. Xabi knows perfectly what he has to do. Every club is different, players are different, and we are adapting to the players we have and to the way they play."

• The City manager added that power dynamics between players and managers ultimately rest with whoever "the hierarchy" decides to give it to - a conclusion he says comes from 18 years in management.

Hear more from Guardiola on BBC Sounds

Listen to commentary of Real Madrid v Man City at 20:00 on Wednesday on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds

Freddie Pye
Fan writer

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Rayan Cherki is bringing back individual excellence, and an unwavering bravery and confidence to bring skills and technical magic back into the game.

But he is not some one-trick pony, or even a multi-trick pony - rather here is a highly intelligent footballer capable of driving Manchester City to the very top, and dare I say it, carry much of the creative burden left behind by Kevin de Bruyne.

That is from the supporters' perspective. Pep Guardiola was left less than pleased by Cherki's sensational 'rabona' assist for Phil Foden's headed goal against Sunderland on Saturday, instead drawing comparisons to the great Lionel Messi, who did the simple things perfectly, in the words of the Catalan coach.

There are a few ways you can look at Guardiola's comments. The main one is that he is a coach who knows how to manage players, having done so through various highs and lows over his 10-year Manchester City tenure.

If there is one way of keeping a player grounded and ensuring that the success of an individual showboat working to perfection does not lead to an increase in similar 'unnecessary' attempts in future, it is by bringing them back down to earth by insisting on the simplicity of the game.

Perhaps another way of looking at things though is the remarkable comparison Guardiola has made between Cherki and Messi. The 54-year-old is clearly a firm believer in the exceptionally high talent of the French international. Having developed the Argentine to the very summit of the game so early on in his Barcelona days, perhaps there is a burning desire from the City coach not to see Cherki put his innate abilities to waste through a constant desire to entertain.

Either way, we are here for it. Cherki is everything you want to see and while his showboating brilliance may need to be saved for the right moments, his is the sort of natural ability City have been crying out for.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external

Manchester City and Liverpool are closely monitoring 19-year-old RB Leipzig and Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande. (Caughtoffside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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The FA Cup third round will take place between Thursday, 8 January and Monday, 12 January.

Find out who your Premier League club will play below.

• Wolves v Shrewsbury Town

• Tottenham v Aston Villa

• Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

• Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

• Manchester City v Exeter City

• West Ham v Queens Park Rangers

• Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

• Fulham v Middlesbrough

• Everton v Sunderland

• Liverpool v Barnsley

• Burnley v Millwall

• Portsmouth v Arsenal

• Derby County v Leeds United

• Newcastle v Bournemouth

• Macclesfield v Crystal Palace

• Manchester United v Brighton

See full draw here

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

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Real Madrid v Manchester City is turning into a rivalry that defines the recent era of the Champions League.

The sides face-off in the group phase of the competition at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, meeting for the fifth consecutive campaign.

The pair met in February in the play-off stage, when an injury-ravaged City were beaten in both legs to suffer an early exit.

Asked if he is feeling more confident this time, Boss Pep Guardiola replied: "Now I have more players. The Bernabeu is not an easy place."

City had been unbeaten in Europe this season before their shock 2-0 home defeat by Bayer Leverkusen last month, slipping to ninth in the standings.

"I would say we missed the opportunity in Leverkusen to be close," Guardiola. "But we're going to do our game.

"Hopefully we can perform like I wish [we can] when you go to bigger stages, to just play like who we are."

Image source, Getty Images

The draw for the third round of the FA Cup will take place on Monday, 8 December at around 18:40 GMT, before the broadcast of Brackley Town v Burton Albion - the final game of the Second Round.

Former England internationals Joe Cole and Peter Crouch will conduct the draw that will consist of 64 teams on TNT Sports.

The 20 winners of the second-round ties will be joined by all 20 Premier League clubs and 24 Championship teams in the third round.

All matches will be played around the weekend commencing Saturday, 10 January 2026.

Unlike in previous years, there are no replays if matches end as a draw. All ties will go to extra-time and if necessary, a penalty shootout.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Sunderland.

Here are some of your comments:

Man City fans

Harry: Much better. Keeping Nico Gonzalez on proved to be a good decision as we need him in midfield. Erling Haaland went missing a bit but he is more than allowed to. We shouldn't be relying on one person and he is a stalwart for us. Send Lyon another £30m as Rayan Cherki is such a player and is so unselfish. I don't think we were tested enough to know if our defence has improved, although Ruben Dias did almost hand them a freebie were it not for Gianluigi Donnarumma. All in all, a comfortable comprehensive win against a respectable and class opponent.

Maurice: Better stuff, but we are not safe in defence. Why? Well, our two wing-backs are forwards and that carries a risk.

Freddie: City were excellent in both defence and attack. Great to get a clean sheet after Fulham and Leeds and Phil Foden is on top form at the moment, I hope this season will be similar to 2023-24 for him. Cherki was really good too - that assist will be remembered for years to come. Two points behind Arsenal so this title race is on!

Sunderland fans

Ron: A terrible performance. No bite, no intensity - I think their minds were on next Sunday's game.

Ian: A curiously passive first-half performance from Sunderland that saw City establish a 2-0 lead. In a much improved second half, Sunderland came close to reducing the deficit but the game turned on three events: Donnarumma's point-blank save after Dias lost possession, Granit Xhaka hitting the post, and Foden snuffing out Sunderland's enthusiasm with a header which went in off the bar. The final score seems comprehensive enough, but does Sunderland little justice.

Anthony: We were beaten by a better organised side and we never really got into the game. I felt sorry for Luke O'Nien - he deserved a booking but VAR (who run the game these days) decided it was a red card. I would feel the same had it been a City player.

John Bennett
Final Score reporter

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I am sure Rayan Cherki did countless rabonas on the five-a-side and cage football pitches in his home town of Lyon when he was a kid, but to see that superb skill being performed at the top level, with amazing accuracy was something special.

His pinpoint cross to Phil Foden, with the kicking leg crossing behind the back of his standing leg to set up the third Manchester City goal, was the highlight of what felt like a significant win after Arsenal dropped points.

Interestingly Pep Guardiola seemed to downplay Cherki's skill in his post-match interviews, saying: "He does that [rabona] and makes a bad cross I don't like it. I never saw [Lionel] Messi doing these kinds of things.

"The simple things Messi does perfectly."

So managers may not be huge fans of players trying street skills like that and risking losing the ball, but as spectators we absolutely love it.

Imagine how many youngsters have been trying to copy Cherki since that goal?

In fairness to Guardiola, he also praised Cherki, highlighting his "special, unique quality" and if the Frenchman keeps putting in influential performances like that, he'll not only be a key player for City in what's now becoming a dramatic title race but he'll also be a fan's favourite.

I'm certainly not getting tired of watching the replays of that skill on the BBC Sport website. A special moment.