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Victor Petkov
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Real Madrid stuns City with late comeback in Champions League drama
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Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal in the last minute to give Los Blancos precious advantage in the tie

Real Madrid pulled off a dramatic 3-2 victory over Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash, overturning a late deficit to take an advantage into the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The match kicked off at a blistering pace, with Real Madrid creating the first dangerous moments. In the 9th minute, Vinicius Junior was fouled by Ederson in the penalty area, but the offside flag denied the visitors a spot-kick. Just moments later, Ferland Mendy had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock, but his shot from a tight angle was cleared off the goal line.

Manchester City struck first in the 17th minute. Jack Grealish lofted a pass to Josko Gvardiol, who controlled it on his chest before laying it off to Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker clinically finished past Thibaut Courtois to give City a 1-0 lead.

Real Madrid nearly found an equalizer soon after, but Vinicius was denied by the crossbar. The visitors, however, kept pushing and were rewarded in the 60th minute. After a failed free kick, the ball landed at the feet of Dani Ceballos, who delivered a cross to Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman’s strike lacked power but caught Ederson off guard, leveling the score at 1-1.

City regained the lead in the 77th minute after Phil Foden was fouled in the box by Ceballos. Following a brief medical check for Foden, Haaland stepped up and coolly slotted the penalty into the bottom right corner, making it 2-1 for the hosts.

However, Real Madrid refused to back down. In the 86th minute, Ederson made a costly mistake, failing to handle a powerful shot from Vinicius. Brahim Díaz pounced on the rebound and slotted the ball into an empty net to restore parity at 2-2. The Spaniard refrained from celebrating out of respect for his former club.

The defining moment arrived deep into stoppage time. In the 92nd minute, Vinicius intercepted a pass from a City defender and sent a precise cross past Ederson. Jude Bellingham was perfectly positioned to tap the ball into the empty net, sealing a stunning 3-2 victory for Real Madrid.