The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
De Bruyne spot on as Manchester City pull off Madrid shock
De Bruyne hits late penalty for Guardiola’s side
Manchester City put themselves on course for a Champions League quarterfinal place with a stunning late comeback at the Bernabeu last night.
Pep Guardiola’s side claimed a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie despite falling behind to Isco’s second-half strike.
Gabriel Jesus headed a 78th-minute equaliser and Kevin De Bruyne converted from the penalty spot after Raheem
Sterling had been brought down by Dani Carvajal.
To make matters worse for Real, captain Sergio Ramos was sent off in the closing stages for denying Jesus another goalscoring opportunity.
City had gone into the last-16 encounter under a cloud after recently being banned from the competition for the next two years.
That issue will continue to overshadow their immediate future but their fine display under pressure in Madrid at least breathed new life into their current campaign.
City’s Benjamin Mendy got himself suspended for the second leg when he was booked for a high challenge on Luka Modric and a bigger blow for the visitors followed as Aymeric Laporte was forced off.
The visitors upped the tempo after the break and Riyad Mahrez twice forced Courtois to save before the visitors were suddenly punished on the break on the hour.
Vinicius led the charge down the right and beat Kyle Walker to square for Isco, who slid home clinically.
De Bruyne did brilliantly on the left to beat two players and then cross for Jesus to head home the equaliser.
Jesus then headed over soon after before Sterling was brought down in the area.
After missing five of their previous seven spot-kicks, City gave responsibility to De Bruyne and he made no mistake.
There was still more drama as Ramos hauled down Jesus as City chased more goals, adding a 26th Real red card to the Spain defender’s collection.
In the night’s other game, Lyon held out to secure a 1-0 win over Juventus at the Groupama Stadium.
Lucas Tousart’s first-half strike was enough for the French club to secure their first win over Juventus in European competition.
Les Gones have put themselves in an ideal position to progress beyond the round of 16 for the first time since 2010.