By IAN LADYMAN, FOOTBALL EDITOR
Published: 17:31 EST, 10 December 2025 | Updated: 17:34 EST, 10 December 2025
If this was to be the night Xabi Alonso's dream of leading Real Madrid to glory died on him then he will take his leave from the Bernabeu knowing the fatal wounds were self-inflicted.
If ever there was a night to showcase the perils and uncertainties of football management then this was it.
Needing a win to ease the pressure after a poor run, Alonso's Real side were in control of this game after Rodrygo's 28th-minute goal. Even without Kylian Mbappe - nursing a knee injury on the bench - Real were the only team in the game. Manchester City, strangely uncertain, couldn't lay a glove on them.
But goals do strange things to football matches, even more so when one team is low on confidence. At Liverpool, Arne Slot knows this well.
So when Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois handed Nico O'Reilly an equaliser and then Antonio Rudiger handed Erling Haaland a penalty that was duly converted, the home team went from in control to out of control within the space of seven first-half minutes.
And that was how it stayed. As Real nerves frayed in the second half, City became the dominant force and closed out a victory that places them in charge of their own Champions League destiny. They have games to come against Bodo/Glimt and Galatasaray.
Erling Haaland (centre) scored the decisive goal as Manchester City won 2-1 at Real Madrid
The Manchester City striker sent Thibaut Courtois the wrong way from the penalty spot
Haaland acted cool and composed after scoring once in a brilliant individual season
As for Alonso, it's hard not to fear for him. At full-time, after his side's late rally led them only down blind alleys, the former Real midfielder shook the hand of Pep Guardiola and walked down the tunnel. Behind him he would have heard the strains of the Real anthem booming out from the speakers of this superbly redeveloped stadium. But without the voices of the home supporters as an accompaniment, it felt rather like a funeral march and that may yet transpire to be the way it turns out.
On paper, Real's season doesn't look that bad. At Liverpool, Slot would swap in a heartbeat. They are second in LaLiga - four points behind Barcelona - and are still in the qualifying positions of the Champions League. But the mood is dark here in Madrid and the direction of travel is threatening to catapult Alonso out of the door. This was his team's second European defeat to English opposition - they lost last month at Anfield - and they have now won only two games of their last eight.
Not that any of that is City's to worry about. They came here having suffered trauma at the Bernabeu in the past and with their own European hopes in some doubt after some sketchy Champions League form of their own. They left with their destiny back in their own hands and ultimately they deserved it.
From the moment they equalised they were the better team and could have scored more goals in the second half.
Early on, though, they had to hang on. Indeed there was actually a penalty awarded for Real within two minutes as City coughed up the ball in midfield.
Real worked an overload cleverly down the left and when Matheus Nunes tripped Vinicius Junior the offence seemed clear. The penalty was awarded immediately only for VAR to rule the foul had taken place outside the area. Federico Valverde took the free-kick and watched it fizz wide off a City leg.
City couldn't get a foothold and were particularly exposed down either side. In the seventh minute Rodrygo found himself in space down the right and his cross to the far post was beautifully timed. Vinicius Junior was the recipient and even though City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was closing in, he probably should have done more than lift the ball over the Italian and the wrong side of the post.
There were other threatening moments for Real as they chipped away at the City defence prior to scoring in the 28th minute. Bernardo Silva lost out in a tussle down the City right with Real left back Alvara Carreras and that allowed the home team to work the ball across the field where their opponents were light on numbers. Jude Bellingham helped the ball on its way as it eventually moved to Rodrygo, being played onside by O'Reilly.
Real Madrid took the lead in the first half when Rodrygo (centre) scored on 28 minutes
The Brazilian forward broke the deadlock with this low right-footed strike
City equalised on 35 minutes when Nico O'Reilly (centre) tapped home from close range
The England international celebrates after scoring in the Champions League encounter
Haaland suffered a knock to his private parts during the match - but he was able to carry on
Pressure is mounting on Real Madrid Xabi Alonso after a bad run of form at the Spanish giants
Still the danger appeared marginal but Rodrygo managed to shift the ball far enough out of his feet to allow himself to shoot and when he did the ball fizzed across Donnarumma and in at the far post. The Italian probably should have saved it.
City seemed to be struggling and in danger of being sunk by a second goal. But a goalkeeping error from nowhere handed them a way back eight minutes before half-time as Courtois palmed a week Josko Gvardiol header in to the path of O'Reilly and he shovelled the ball in.
Soon a lifeline became an almost unfathomable advantage. A corner from the City left was cleared by Real only for VAR to spot a pull by Rudiger on Haaland. City's centre-forward slid in the penalty and his team were ahead.
Courtois was to save well subsequently from Haaland and from Rayan Cherki while in the second half he denied Silva and Jeremy Doku. The Belgian's earlier error had undoubtedly changed the game, though, and the truth was that his team never recovered their earlier poise or belief.
Bellingham missed a good chance in the 50th minute and took out his anger on the hoardings. Late on, there were a couple of headed chances that on another day may have levelled the scores.
But instead this turned out to be one of those days for Alonso. Whether it transpires to be his last day remains to be seen.