Manchester City beat real Madrid 2–1 at Bernabéu

Real Madrid lost 2–1 at home to Manchester City in the Champions League, raising questions over coach Xabi Alonso’s future. Rodrygo gave Real an early lead, but City equalized through Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland converted a penalty to secure the win.

The defeat has intensified speculation over coach Xabi Alonso’s future, with this match seen as a critical test—one he ultimately failed.

With the win, Manchester City moved up to fourth place in the table with 13 points from six matches, while Real Madrid dropped to seventh with 12 points.

Kylian Mbappé remained on the bench due to a finger and muscle injury, while Erling Haaland continued his scoring streak, netting in his 51st goal in his 50th Champions League appearance.

Real started strongly and appeared dominant early on. They were initially awarded a penalty in the third minute, but VAR overturned the decision, ruling the foul occurred outside the box. Vinícius Jr. launched several attacks but failed to hit the target. In the 28th minute, Rodrygo scored his first goal in 32 Champions League matches to give Real the lead. However, Manchester City equalized in the 34th minute from a corner—Thibaut Courtois saved the initial header from Josko Gvardiol, but Nico O’Reilly scored on the rebound.

In the 39th minute, Haaland won a penalty after Antonio Rüdiger’s foul and converted it, putting City ahead 2–1. Just before halftime, Courtois produced a stunning double save to prevent the lead from extending. In the second half, Real squandered several chances, including a golden opportunity for Jude Bellingham, and despite pressure in stoppage time, failed to score.

Courtois made key saves to prevent a larger margin, but Real managed only 1 shot on target from 16, while City had 8 on target from 12.

Other Matches:
Arsenal beat Club Brugge 3–0 away, maintaining a perfect record of six wins from six and consolidating top spot. Noni Madueke scored twice and Gabriel Martinelli added another.

PSG were held to a goalless draw at Atlético Madrid.

Newcastle United drew 2–2 at Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli lost 2–0 at Benfica, Juventus won 2–0 against Pafos, and Borussia Dortmund drew 2–2 with Bodø/Glimt.