Real Madrid eliminate 10-man Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad, sealing a 5-1 aggregate win and a fourth exit in five seasons for the English side

REAL Madrid once again proved to be Manchester City’s Champions League nemesis, securing a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium to complete a 5-1 aggregate triumph.

The result marks the fourth time in five seasons that the Spanish giants have eliminated City from Europe’s premier club competition.

City’s monumental task of overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit became impossible when captain Bernardo Silva was sent off early for a handball on his own goal line.

Vinicius Junior converted the resulting penalty to effectively end the tie as a contest.

Erling Haaland managed to level the score on the night before half-time, but Vinicius secured the win with a stoppage-time goal.

City’s season is now in danger of unravelling, having gone three games without a win.

Pep Guardiola’s side must regroup for Sunday’s League Cup final against Arsenal, while also trailing the Gunners by nine points in the Premier League title race.

They face Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals next month.

Real Madrid demonstrated their unique knack for peaking in the Champions League knockout stages, despite inconsistent domestic form.

Manager Alvaro Arbeloa could afford to leave the returning Kylian Mbappe on the bench, with Jude Bellingham also nearing a return from injury.

City needed a fast start but nearly conceded within the first minute, with Federico Valverde firing a good chance straight at goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The home side created chances but found Thibaut Courtois in inspired form, the Belgian denying efforts from Rayan Cherki and Rodri.

The decisive moment came when Silva handled Vinicius’s goal-bound shot, leading to a red card and a penalty after a VAR review confirmed the Brazilian was onside.

Vinicius made no mistake from the spot, sending Donnarumma the wrong way.

The Brazilian forward missed two further clear chances to extend the lead before Haaland’s scuffed equaliser just before the interval.

Courtois did not emerge for the second half, but substitute goalkeeper Andriy Lunin twice denied Haaland a second goal.

Haaland was substituted before the hour mark as Guardiola looked ahead to the weekend’s final.

Both sides had goals ruled out for offside before Vinicius finally sealed the win, sweeping home Aurelien Tchouameni’s cross deep into added time.

Speculation continues that this could be Guardiola’s final season in Manchester after a decade in charge.

If so, winning the Champions League only once remains a rare blemish on an otherwise golden era for the club.

 The Sun Malaysia