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Key events
68 min: Courtois hoicks the ball straight out of play, and the whistles start again. Ear-splitting. They’re not happy. The Spanish TV director cuts to Xabi Alonso. Join the dots.
67 min: Foden’s delivery of the free kick is dreadful. When the ball goes out for a throw, Brahim Díaz, a Manchester City lad in his youth, comes on for Ceballos.
66 min: Doku cuts in from the left and is nudged from behind by Bellingham. A free kick, but once again, the Real Madrid man escapes official censure. Doku is the boss of this left wing.
64 min: Doku spins Valverde down the left. Both players go down. The referee gives the Real captain an out by awarding him a generous free kick. Valverde is pushing his luck in this battle. Doku looks to have the beating of him.
62 min: City look like scoring every time they attack. Doku sashays in from the left and curls powerfully towards the bottom right. Courtois turns the ball around for a corner, cleverly so, given Haaland was lurking and would have prodded home had the ball been cushioned into his path. Nothing comes of the set piece.
61 min: Just before that Real break, Cherki danced in from the right and went over, claiming a penalty. He was clipped … but by his own man Silva. Oops.
59 min: Cherki, grooving his way down the inside-right channel, curls into the box for Haaland, who can’t telescope his leg far enough to poke past Courtois, who parries clear. Real counter, and Vinícius Júnior has the chance to release Rodrygo down the right … but telegraphs the pass, allowing O’Reilly to intercept. A blast of disapproving noise from the Real faithful, who are getting restless.
58 min: Real Madrid make the first change of the evening. Arda Güler comes on for the ineffective Gonzalo.
56 min: Well, play finally stops. But Valverde isn’t booked. That is utterly absurd. It was a comically mistimed tackle.
55 min: Valverde, chasing after Doku down the left touchline, scythes his man down with a late lunge. Doku gets up and tries to keep the move going. It breaks down. Valverde will surely be booked when play finally stops.
54 min: That was a hell of a reaction stop by Courtois, you know. He had hardly any time to react after the ball pinged off Asencio. Real’s keeper performing his usual heroics, with the admittedly large caveat of his unfortunate role in City’s equaliser.
52 min: City counter the counter, and Cherki jinks his way into the box from the right. He shoots. The ball bagatelles through a thicket of players and sails towards the bottom right. Courtois readjusts and smothers just in time. Then the counter-counter is countered (!!!) and Rodrygo aims a curler towards the top left. Wide and high. This isn’t going to end 1-2. It surely can’t.
50 min: Doku runs hard down the left. He crosses low for Silva, but Carreras intercepts just in time, skips past a couple of challenges, and sends Vinícius Júnior away down the left. The ball’s shuttled over to Bellingham, who cuts in from the right and tries to gently lob Donnarumma, but overcooks it, and the ball sails over the bar.
48 min: Haaland, in attempting to block a crisply hit Carreras pass, takes the ball full in the fruitbowl. He felt that alright, and blows his cheeks out hard. He gets up eventually, but oof, ooyah and ow. A tender moment.
47 min: Real start the second half on the front foot, without getting anywhere near the final third of the pitch.
Real Madrid, who were kept waiting by Manchester City, finally get the second half underway. No changes. Xabi Alonso, who was pictured in the tunnel having a discussion with the referee before wandering off with a wry smile on his face, takes his place in the dugout. His place in the dugout. For now.
Half-time ad break. The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
HALF TIME: Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City
It’s been breathless. Real started well, and went ahead with a fine goal, but City have responded with buckle and swash. They’ve been magnificent. They disappear down the tunnel contentedly; Real not so much, with Rudiger continuing to chunter in the referee’s direction. Having been booked, he might want to keep his counsel. The Bernabéu faithful not happy either, and Xabi Alonso’s coat, as absurd as the situation is for a man appointed just six months ago, currently hangs on a shoogly peg.
45 min +2: Just before that City counter, when Rodrygo swung that free kick in, Raúl Asencio went over in the vicinity of Gvardiol. Real are still complaining, arguing for a penalty, but if anything it was the Real man who sent the City defender over first. They’re not getting the decision, that’s for sure.
45 min +1: As good as Courtois’s save was, Haaland might have expected to slot that chance. He was unmarked, eight yards out. High standards and all that.
45 min: A free kick for Real Madrid out on the left touchline. Rodrygo curls it straight into the gloves of Donnarumma, who launches a counter attack. O’Reilly romps down the left and rolls infield for Haaland, who slams a shot towards the bottom right. Courtois parries. The rebound falls to Cherki, who has a shy at goal from a tighter angle on the right. Courtois parries again! What a stunning double save!
44 min: That’s curdled the mood in the Bernabéu, and ramped up the pressure on Xabi Alonso. Such a fine response by City to going behind.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City (Haaland 43 pen)
Whistles scream down from the stand. Nobody’s putting Haaland off, though. He stares down Courtois, waits for the keeper to commit, and rolls calmly and confidently into the bottom right! Easy as that. Cool as you like. What a striker.
Penalty for Manchester City!
42 min: The referee goes over to the monitor. He doesn’t need much time to decide that it’s a spot kick. He points to the spot, then books Rudiger, who chats back in the trenchant style. But he’s not changing the referee’s mind.
41 min: This will be a little bit soft. But it may well be given. Rudiger gets caught the wrong side, and grabs Haaland around the waist. Haaland doesn’t need much encouragement to go down, but then Haaland shouldn’t offer him any. This is going to be given.
40 min: O’Reilly crosses from the left. Rudiger and Haaland tussle in the box. The striker goes down. He wants a penalty. VAR is going to take a look.
39 min: Real try to respond immediately, but Bellingham’s pass down the inside-left channel, intended for Vinícius Júnior, is too strong. Goal kick.
38 min: Real were claiming Dias had wrestled Rudiger to the ground just before Gvardiol won his header, but while there was some contact, it surely wasn’t enough for Rudiger to go down as dramatically as he did. Neither referee nor VAR were buying it, anyway.
36 min: … and so Thibaut Courtois still doesn’t have a clean sheet against Manchester City to his name.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City (O’Reilly 35)
Doku works his way down the left and wins a corner off Asencio. Cherki comes across to send it long. Gvardiol towers over Bellingham to win a header, six yards out, level with the far stick. Courtois parries to stop the ball going into the bottom right. He spills into the road of O’Reilly, who whips across the prone keeper and into the bottom left. City level!
34 min: City win a free kick out on the right. Cherki floats it in, hoping to find the head of Dias, but it’s an easy clearance for Rudiger. Courtois hasn’t had a save to make yet.
33 min: Vinícius Júnior enters the box down the left and elects to feed Bellingham on the overlap rather than cutting inside and shooting himself. Wrong option.
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