MANCHESTER, England — Real Madrid reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League after dumping out Manchester City for the third year in a row.
A 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday sealed a 5-1 aggregate win for Real Madrid, who are likely to face Bayern Munich — 6-1 winners over Atalanta in their last-16 first leg — in the last eight.
Needing to overturn a three-goal deficit from Madrid, City started well, but the game turned midway through the first half when Bernardo Silva was sent off for handling Vinícius Júnior’s shot on the line — given after a lengthy VAR check.
Vinícius, who missed a penalty in the 3-0 win at the Bernabeu last week, found the net from the spot. And despite an equalizer from Erling Haaland just before halftime, City could not find a way back into the tie with 10 men.
Pep Guardiola’s side had two goals ruled out for offside in the second half and ended the night with 22 shots on goal, but Vinícius scored again in stoppage time to earn Real Madrid victory on the night and on aggregate. — Rob Dawson
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Another Champions League failure for Guardiola
Manchester City hired Pep Guardiola a decade ago with the clear ambition of becoming serial Champions League winners under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach, but this decade has delivered more European disappointments than success.
City’s sole Champions League success came in 2023, when they beat Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul. They also reached the 2021 final before losing to Chelsea in Porto.
That’s the sum total of Guardiola’s 10 years in the Champions League with City, and for the second straight season, his team exits the competition before the quarterfinal stage. Indeed, over the course of those 10 years, City have only reached the last four on three occasions. There can be no question that Guardiola has underachieved at this highest level.
In some ways, Guardiola’s record bears similarities to Sir Alex Ferguson’s during his time at Manchester United. Ferguson’s United dominated the English game, winning 13 league titles in 20 years, but they won only two Champions Leagues in that time before losing two finals — coincidentally, to Guardiola’s Barcelona. Guardiola’s City have won six league titles in ten years, but just one Champions League, despite playing in the competition in every one of Guardiola’s seasons at the Etihad.
If he leaves his post in the summer, as many now expect him to, his Champions League record will be the one blot on his legacy. — Mark Ogden
Never write off Real Madrid
Before the first leg in Madrid last week, there was a sense that Real Madrid would be lucky to get through. Head coach Alvaro Arbeloa’s news conference was dominated by questions about being the underdogs, and even the fans at the Bernabeu seemed relatively pessimistic. The game wasn’t a sellout, and there was no big fanfare before kickoff like there often is before important Champions League nights.
But this has been a lesson that you should never write off Real Madrid in this competition. There’s just something about them on this stage.
Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Barcelona will be considered more likely contenders. Real Madrid, however, will fancy their chances after knocking out one of the best teams in the Premier League.
City’s Bernardo Silva said Monday that the best team usually wins out in a domestic league, but the Champions League is different.
Real Madrid finished ninth in the league phase table and had to come through a tense, tight playoff against Benfica. Yet they still find themselves in the quarterfinals, and from here, anything could happen. With Real Madrid, you never know. — Dawson
Haaland still out of sorts despite goal
The Norwegian looks short of something — whether that’s fitness or confidence. He scored here, but even tasked with a close-range finish from Jérémy Doku’s cross, he found the net in a manner that wasn’t particularly convincing.
With City desperate for goals in the second half, Guardiola decided to replace Haaland with Omar Marmoush with more than 30 minutes still to play. Whether or not it was done to preserve him for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, it’s still not a good look when the star striker comes off despite the team needing to score.
The goal against Real Madrid was just Haaland’s fifth of 2026 and the third from open play. In the first leg in Madrid, he didn’t attempt a shot and in the 1-1 draw with West Ham on Saturday, he missed two good chances.
There has been a theory that Haaland has struggled in the second half of the season because of injuries to City’s two best wingers: Savinho and Doku. Having both back in the squad should help Haaland get the chances he needs in the run-in, but he still looks like he’s missing his usual clinical instinct in front of goal. — Dawson
Alexander-Arnold’s World Cup spot in jeopardy
Trent Alexander-Arnold has had a difficult first year at Real Madrid following his summer move from Liverpool, and he also had a tough night at the Etihad.
The 27-year-old was up against Doku, and the City was the clear winner in the head-to-head battle. Alexander-Arnold was outmuscled and outrun by the Belgium international, who was one of City’s rare bright spots on a night when they crashed out of the Champions League.
Injuries have restricted Alexander-Arnold to just 20 first-team appearances since the start of the season — not counting last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup — and he looked rusty in this game.
Because he has had such an unconvincing time at Real, Alexander-Arnold’s place in England’s World Cup squad is in doubt. Reece James’s hamstring injury means that he could be recalled to Thomas Tuchel’s squad when he names his group on Friday for the forthcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan. But on this form, he might not even win a place in that squad.
His World Cup hopes are on the line. — Ogden
Khusanov rare bright spot for City
Abdukodir Khusanov was outstanding for City against Real, giving Vinícius one of his toughest games of the season at the Etihad.
The 22-year-old looked to be completely out of his depth when he arrived from Lens in January 2025 and proceeded to endure a nightmare debut against Chelsea. But he has worked on his game and significantly improved his physique to become arguably City’s best defender.
The Uzbekistan international displayed incredible pace and strength against Real. In one moment, he made up three yards on Brahim Díaz to dispossess the former City youngster after he looked to have been set free by Vinícius.
Khusanov has had to fight for his place, but he is showing real consistency. On a bad night for City, he was a real positive. — Ogden
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