Champions League: Real Madrid v Manchester City full-time report

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid 3 Manchester City 2

Cristiano Ronaldo’s last minute winner meant heartbreak for Manchester City on a thrilling night which simmered for 70 minutes before coming to the boil in the last 20.

Substitute Edin Džeko gave a defensive City a shock lead midway through the second half at the Bernabéu when he ran onto Yaya Touré’s through ball, before Marcelo’s deflected strike drew Real Madrid level.

Aleksandar Kolarov’s free-kick beat everyone in the Real box to regain City’s lead just five minutes from time, only for substitute Karim Benzema and then Ronaldo to score in the final moments and complete a stunning turnaround.

Real had come into the game to the sound of criticism from boss José Mourinho following a below par start to the defence of their domestic title, and those words appeared to be ringing in their ears as they made a strong start.

Ronaldo had adopted a shoot on sight policy before bursting into the box 10 minutes in, tricking the usually unflappable Vincent Kompany and then forcing a terrific low save from Joe Hart down to his left.

It was the first moment of a busy first period for City’s England goalkeeper, who was soon required to block Gonzalo Higuain’s close range header from another fierce strike across goal from Ronaldo.

The direction of the one way traffic had by now been firmly established, and City were hanging on as Ronaldo’s deflected strike was turned over the top by Sami Khedira, before a fine ball from Ángel di Maria was volleyed over by Higuain.

With Carlos Tévez left isolated upfront and with City losing hamstring injury victim Samir Nasri in the first half, only the familiar runs from Touré were allowing the Ivorian’s side to get up the pitch. One such run saw the ball eventually reach David Silva, but his effort was blocked.

Mourinho can’t have had too many complaints with his side’s display in the first half, and they started the second in similar fashion when Di Maria fired over the top. Moments later, a fierce strike from Marcelo fizzed past a beaten Hart’s left hand post.

Roberto Mancini’s response to Real’s repeated dominance was to introduce Džeko for Silva, and although the Bosnian would go onto have his moment he initially watched on as the quiet Tévez cut inside from the left an blazed over.

Frustration had set in amongst the Madrid ranks now though, and there was an anxiety which grew until midway through the second period, at which point Touré burst through the Real midfield and the home crowd held their collective breath.

Unlike earlier breaks, this time Touré had a clear option screaming for the ball to his left, and when Džeko was played in by the Ivorian he slipped a perfect finish beyond Iker Casillas to send the travelling City fans wild.

Kolarov fired a shot at Casillas as City looked for a second, which they almost grabbed when Touré’s long strides took him into the box before he fired into the side-netting. The real drama hadn’t even begun though.

Almost instantly, Real full-back Marcelo found himself in space on the edge of the box and saw his effort with his weaker right foot clip off City’s Javi Garcia before nestling into the back of the City net for the equaliser. Only 14 minutes remained, but it contained enough action for several matches.

Tévez and Xabi Alonso tested goalkeepers at either end, before an 85th minute City free-kick saw Kolarov line up an effort from wide on the right and his fizzed cross evaded everyone before astonishingly nestling in the back of the net.

Now looking at one of their greatest ever nights, City looked to see out the game, but a brilliant turn and shot from the edge of the box from sub Benzema suddenly snatched the possibility of three points away from them.

With the scene set for Ronaldo, one City point staggeringly became none when the Portuguese lined up his umpteenth effort of the night in the 90th minute; this time seeing his low shot bamboozle Hart and find the net for an extraordinary ending to a staggering evening.

Mark Jones – follow me on twitter

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