Final yr, they got here again twice within the quarterfinal first leg to finish the Sky Blues’ hopes of repeating. Two years earlier, Madrid scored 3 times in stoppage time to achieve the ultimate, which they went on to win over Liverpool.
Metropolis, in fact, gained its first Champions League crown in between, beating Actual on the way in which to the 2023 title. However Tuesday was extra of the identical.
Twice Erling Haaland gave Metropolis the lead — the Norwegian striker’s first two profession targets in opposition to Actual in 5 video games — and appeared to have gained it from the penalty spot within the eightieth minute. However twice the guests got here roaring again to stage the rating, first by way of Kylian Mbappé after which by way of second-half substitute (and famous Cityzens-killer) Brahim Díaz.
A 2-2 end would’ve felt like a loss for Guardiola & Co., however not a catastrophe. Positive sufficient, although, Jude Bellingham discovered the winner when he scored within the second minute of stoppage time:
Do not get it twisted: It is a spirit-crushing loss for the Premier League champs, who’ve been a shadow of themselves all season. Beating the trophy holders would have been a colossal increase heading into the second leg in Spain’s capital. Now they know they have to win at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu or miss out on the final 16 for the primary time since 2013.
Probably the most compelling storylines of the 2024-25 Champions League season has been Brest, the common-or-garden French outfit that has loved a Cinderella run on this yr’s competitors, ending increased within the remaining league part standings than former European titlists comparable to Juventus and Manchester Metropolis.
The fairy story met actuality on Tuesday. Positive, the again half of the home-and-home with PSG continues to be to play. However the collection is successfully over following the Parisians’ emphatic 3-0 away victory within the first leg — a match the guests dominated from begin to end.
PSG took the lead on a profitable Vitinha penalty kick within the twenty first minute and acquired one other earlier than halftime from red-hot Ousmane Dembélé, who made it 3-0 after the break — an all however insurmountable benefit heading into the decisive contest subsequent week within the Metropolis of Lights.
Dembélé now has 5 targets in his final two video games in opposition to Brest; he scored a hat trick in opposition to them earlier this month in Ligue 1.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer author for FOX Sports activities who has lined the United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at FIFA World Cups on 5 continents. Observe him at @ByDougMcIntyre.
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Actual Madrid / Manchester Metropolis