Jude Bellingham on Tuesday snatched a stoppage-time winner as Real Madrid twice came from behind to beat Manchester City 3-2 in the first leg of their blockbuster UEFA Champions League playoff tie Tuesday, while Paris Saint-Germain took command of an all-French clash with Stade Brestois 29.
Erling Haaland’s double — his first goals in five appearances against Madrid — looked to have secured Pep Guardiola’s side a slender advantage, but instead the reigning European champions now go into next week’s return leg in Spain as strong favorites to reach the last 16.
“It was a weird one. We played some of our best football of the season and ended up behind,” Bellingham told Amazon Prime. “I don’t care what form City are in, they are still an unbelievable team. It’s always tricky to play against them and we finally took the chance at the end.”
Photo: AFP
It is the fourth consecutive season City and Madrid have met in the knockout phase of the competition, with the winner in each of the past three encounters going on to lift the Champions League trophy.
City overcame a slow start at the Etihad and took the lead in the 19th minute as Haaland steered past Thibaut Courtois after Josko Gvardiol chested down a pass from Jack Grealish.
Vinicius Junior hit the crossbar for Madrid before City defender Manuel Akanji did likewise with a header, while Haaland was denied a second goal right after halftime when his deflected shot came back off the woodwork.
Madrid equalized on the hour after the City wall blocked a free-kick, with Dani Ceballos clipping the ball back into the area where Mbappe’s mishit volley looped into the net after coming off his shin and leaving Ederson stranded.
City regained the lead 10 minutes from time as Haaland stuck away a penalty after Phil Foden was clattered by Ceballos.
However, former City player Brahim Diaz leveled for Madrid in the 86th minute after a dreadful kick by Ederson, and Bellingham punished the hosts for more suspect defending as the England midfielder struck the winning goal at the death.
“I don’t know how to put it into words straight away, it’s so raw and frustrating for everyone,” City defender John Stones said.
“It’s a feeling of anger and frustration,” Stones added. “We need to see games out better. We need to step up when these bad moments happen.”
In France, Ousmane Dembele continued his sensational goal-scoring form as he netted twice for PSG in a 3-0 win over Brest, while Juventus won 2-1 at home to PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their tie in Turin and Borussia Dortmund were on the cusp of the last 16 after winning 3-0 away to Portugal’s Sporting.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned