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It’s no news that Manchester City have been on a downward spiral for the better part of the last few months. Man City are once again the masters of their own downfall in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Qualifiers.
As one commentator put it, “The mistakes are unbelievable!”
Playing against behemoth Real Madrid at home in Etihad, Man City started the game strongly, with “goal machine” Erling Haaland opening the scoring in the 19th minute.
Mbappé’s Unstylish Goal: Tough Yet Effective
Come the second half, the tide shifted, with Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé opening the scoring for the Spanish giants in the 60th minute.
Mbappé’s goal was nothing for the books; but a sidekick that fell short in style (and bounced off the side of his foot) but was very effective, spiraling into the goalposts.
A Ceballos Foul Aids City’s Home Turf UCL Aspirations
City froze for a minute, but then got lucky after a Dani Ceballos foul on Phil Foden handed them a penalty kick. The goal machine quickly converted, sending Real keeper Thibaut Courtois counting blades of grass on the opposite side.
City were back in the lead, looking strong and with the ‘Cityzens’ beating their chests like they were angry with their chest cavities.
Real Madrid Textbook Comeback Against Manchester City in the UCL 24–25 Playoffs
Before long, however, former Man City player Brahim Diaz put in Real’s second, just 4 minutes before the end of stoppage time.
If you’re like me, at this point, you may have been praying that the game ends 2-2, hoping that in the second leg, a draw would also be the result and a penalty shootout on the way. Not with Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid.
The Mistakes Costing Man City an Arm and a Leg
In 90 +2′, Kovacic made a crucial mistake, back passing the ball via a side-heel. Vinícius Jr. was there to receive it and despite being in on that action, Real Madrid’s star player Jude Bellingham rushed to the fore, with Vini Jr. kicking him what was essentially a tap-in.
Jude took it and with it ended the game 3-2 in favor of UCL defending champions Real Madrid.
Is Man City’s Manager Pep Guardiola Losing His Touch?
Man City’s mistake yesterday was just the latest in a long line of slumps that has seen the treble-winning English behemoth fall to its knees. As one commentator put it, “The mistakes are unbelievable!”
For a team like #ManCity to fall short of style so greatly, one must wonder what’s really going on at Etihad. Is Pep Guardiola losing his touch? Did the financial scandal rock the team’s soul, or what in the Britain is going on?
City must pull up their socks. Pep must find a way to bring back the oomph to the team. He must do a shake-up or whatever it takes because it would be such a shame to win a treble one year, have Rodri win the Ballon d’Or the next, and then lose out on all of the above just two years later.
Personally, I am a Manchester United fan and of course I was rooting for Real Madrid but, once the game ended, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. City are embarrassing English football with such novice mistakes on the pitch, and it is unacceptable.
As EPL fans, we all deserve better. We can’t have the rest of Europe thinking we are losing our finesse. I think the EU should come out and condemn the lack of quality shown tonight, else Trump will ‘tariff’ TV rights, and we’ll all have to download TikTok to keep watching games.
