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Manchester City and Real Madrid locked horns in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie at the Etihad Stadium, as they looked to pip one another for a place in the quarterfinals.
With the Cityzens bringing home a one-goal lead courtesy of their 2-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu in March, Real Madrid knew they had their work cut out for them.
In what was a thrilling encounter, Manchester City recorded a stunning 2-1 victory to eliminate the record European champions.
With Sergio Ramos suspended due to his red card in the first leg, Real Madrid drafted in Eder Militao in his place and Raphael Varane was tasked with marshalling the backline.
Real Madrid felt the void left by Ramos in the opening exchanges of the game, as Varane endured a horror moment in the lead up to the opening goal.
The Frenchman took too much time on the ball and was dispossessed by Gabriel Jesus, who teed up Raheem Sterling for the first goal of the game.
Real Madrid pegged back in the 28th minute through Karim Benzema, who planted a brilliant header past Ederson after Rodrygo had done well to get in a cross.
Both goalkeepers made a string of decent saves to keep the scores level going into halftime, as Manchester City went into the interval the happier of the two sides.
In what was a tightly contested encounter with end to end action in the second half, Real Madrid fell behind on the night once again. Much like the first goal, Varane was the culprit, as his shocking attempt to clear the ball was latched onto and buried by Jesus.
Manchester City held on for a 2-1 victory and qualified 4-2 on aggregate, as they secured qualification to the quarterfinals.
Real Madrid were eliminated from European competition for the first time under Zinedine Zidane, as the La Liga giants were left to pay for their individual errors.
