February 12, (THEWILL) – Real Madrid emerged victorious in a dramatic UEFA Champions League encounter, defeating Manchester City 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium, through Jude Bellingham’s decisive stoppage-time goal.
The result places the Spanish giants in a commanding position ahead of the second leg in Madrid next week. That end came after City had established control through Erling Haaland’s brace, marking his first goals against Real Madrid in five matches.
The Norwegian marksman opened the scoring in the 19th minute following Jack Grealish’s assist, and later converted a penalty in the 80th minute after Phil Foden was fouled by Dani Ceballos.
However, Real Madrid demonstrated their characteristic resilience, with Mbappe fortuitously equalising on the hour mark when his miscued volley found its way past Ederson.
Former Manchester City player Brahim Diaz capitalised on Ederson’s goalkeeping error to level the score at 2-2 in the 86th minute, setting the stage for Bellingham’s winning strike.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
