Real Madrid, who have won the UEFA Champions League 15 times, are in a good position to eliminate Manchester City from Europe for the third time in four seasons after scoring a last-minute winner in the first leg. Despite their recent struggles in the La Liga, where they have failed to win three consecutive games (D2, L1), Real have a strong history in these situations, having progressed on 37 out of 39 occasions when winning the first leg of a European knockout tie away from home. Real are known for their ruthless performance at the Bernabéu, where they have scored in all but one of their last 78 UCL home matches, averaging 2.65 goals per game. They also have a solid record against English teams at home (W12, D9, L4), but it should be noted that their last three eliminations in the UCL came at the hands of Premier League opponents.
On the other hand, City’s lack of consistency may be their downfall this season as they have suffered three UCL defeats after scoring the first goal, a record that has never been seen before. However, their 4-0 victory against Newcastle over the weekend may have given them some confidence as they aim to overcome a first-leg deficit for the first time in their fifth attempt. To do so, they will have to break Pep Guardiola’s personal losing streak in UCL away games (L3) and defeat Carlo Ancelotti, whom he has never beaten away from home (D2, L2) in their ten previous continental clashes. City’s overall away record against Spanish teams is not impressive (W4, D4, L8).
Keep an eye on Vinicius Junior, who was motivated by City’s tifo in the first leg and went on to assist twice, making it nine goal contributions in his last five UCL games (G7, A3). City’s Erling Haaland, who scored in both halves of the first leg, could become the fastest player to reach 50 UCL goals in terms of both appearances and age (24 years and 213 days, with 49 goals). In the last eight head-to-head matches, seven have seen goals in both halves and both teams scoring.
