Can Arsenal Maintain Their Perfect Record While Manchester City Triumphs Over Real Madrid?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Arsenal remains unbeaten in the Champions League.
- Manchester City showed resilience with a comeback victory.
- Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli were key to Arsenal's win.
- Real Madrid struggled to maintain their lead against City.
- Leverkusen's late equalizer denied Newcastle a win.
New Delhi, Dec 11 (NationPress) The unbeaten leaders Arsenal recorded their sixth consecutive victory by defeating Club Brugge 3-0, solidifying their top position in the league phase standings. Meanwhile, Manchester City triumphed 2-1 in their away match against Real Madrid.
Outstanding goals from Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli propelled Arsenal to their perfect league phase record. Madueke, who was one of the seven alterations made to the lineup that previously faced Bayern on Matchday 5, scored a spectacular opener in the 25th minute. He outmuscled Joaquin Seys, surged forward, and unleashed a powerful long-range shot into the top-right corner.
Though the hosts threatened with two near misses from Aleksandar Stanković in the first half, Arsenal responded decisively after the interval. Madueke headed in Martin Zubimendi's cross just two minutes into the second half, followed by Martinelli's exquisite curled effort nine minutes later. The return of Gabriel Jesus, who has been sidelined since January, added to the Gunners' delight, as reported by UEFA.
In a contrasting match, Nico O'Reilly's quick strike along with Erling Haaland's composed penalty ensured a comeback win for Manchester City.
Real Madrid started strong with Vinicius Junior missing an early chance, while Rodrygo scored a tidy finish on a well-executed move shortly before the half-hour mark.
Pep Guardiola's squad was trailing for just over seven minutes, as O'Reilly capitalized after Thibaut Courtois failed to catch a header from Joško Gvardiol. As the half neared its end, Haaland celebrated his 50th Champions League appearance by converting a penalty awarded for a foul on him by Antonio Rüdiger.
Substitute Endrick nearly equalized for Madrid but struck the crossbar late in the game.
In other news, Alejandro Grimaldo of Leverkusen scored a late equalizer to prevent Newcastle from securing a win in Germany. Anthony Gordon's impressive second-half display seemed sufficient until Grimaldo surged into the area to slot past Aaron Ramsdale with just two minutes to go.
Leverkusen initially took the lead with a header from Robert Andrich that inadvertently deflected off Bruno Guimarães into the net. Gordon leveled the score by converting a penalty after Nick Woltemade was fouled. He later assisted teenage sensation Lewis Miley to score, but Grimaldo had the final say.