But an early Raheem Sterling’s goal in the 9th minute as a result of a Raphael Verane mistake in Real Madrid’s 18-yard box shuttered the hopes of the Spanish side and left Madrid needing to score three goals in order to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.
In the 28th minute, a stylish header from Karim Benzema after Rodrygo’s stunning cross into City’s 18-yard box brought back Madrid’s hopes of qualification.
Real Madrid failed to keep focus in the game as Manchester city’s forward, Gabriel Jesus, found the back of the net once more through another error committed by Madrid’s full-back, Raphael Verane, in the 68th minutes.
Real Madrid lost 2-1 to the English side at the end of the entire 90 minutes at the Etihad stadium and has been eliminated in a 4-2 aggregate.
In a post-match interview, Raphael Verane accepted blame for Madrid’s exit from the competition.
“I want to step up tonight. This defeat is my fault, all mine. I have to accept that. I’m sorry for my teammates and all the effort they put in. This defeat is my responsibility. We played well, we prepared the match well, but as I said, errors are costly at this level”, said Madrid’s full-back.
Manchester City will be facing Lyon in the quarter-final stage of the competition.
