LONDON: Real Madrid’s problems deepened after Manchester City came from behind to claim a 2-1 win in the Champions League on Wednesday that left coach Xabi Alonso’s future very much on the line.

Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris St Germain were held to a goalless draw at Athletic Bilbao.

Bayer Leverkusen rescued a late 2-2 draw with Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt. Elsewhere, Juve­ntus defeated Pafos 2-0, Benfica won 2-0 against Napoli, Ajax Amste­rdam claimed a late 4-2 comeback win at Qarabag and FC Copenhagen beat Villarreal 3-2.

The clash between Real and City was the standout game of the round and Alonso had faced reports this week that he had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after a latest defeat. It is now just two wins in eight games for Real and back-to-back home losses following their 2-0 reverse against Celta Vigo at the weekend.

There were jeers inside the Bernabeu at the final whistle.

“We know it’s a tough moment for us and for the coach,” Real winger Rodrygo, who hugged his under-fire boss on the side of the pitch after the match, said. “Things are not going our way and I wanted to show that we are behind our coach. He has been trying. I wanted to show that we are together and we need to be united to keep moving forward and achieve our goals.”

There was some early drama right after kick-off as Real were awarded a penalty after Vinicius Jr went down, but the decision was overturned because the foul happened outside the box.

The hosts still were the ones to break the deadlock, with Rodr­ygo scoring his first goal of the season in the 28th with a crisp shot across Gianluigi Donnar­umma into the far corner.

But City didn’t take long to hit back and, even though goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois denied Josko Gvardiol after a corner, Nico O’Reilly collected the rebo­und to equalise in the 35th for his first goal in the competition.

City failed to complete a well-worked counterattack in the 43rd as Courtois made a superb double save to deny Erling Haaland and then Rayan Cherki.

But before the break, Haaland scored from the spot after he was brought down inside the box to turn the game around for the English side.

For Haaland, though, this was a 21st goal in 21 City games this season and a 51st in 50 Champions League starts.

“[The] game was a bit chaotic, we couldn’t really control it. We get the win in the end, super happy,” Haaland told TNT Sports, pointing to how important it was to bounce back from their home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen last time out. “Two more games left. We need to finish strong and hopefully we can be in the first eight because then we’re through.”

It was a breathless end-to-end second half and Jude Bellingham could have done better than chip over the bar with only Donnar­umma to beat, while Courtois made a fingertip save to deny Jeremy Doku.

Vinicius had a late chance to equalise but skied his volley after Donnarumma had come for and missed an inswinging corner.

Substitute Endrick also clipped the top of the bar with a header as Alonso looked frustrated on the sidelines as he watched his blunt attack waste chances to salvage something in the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappe, who was an unused substitute.

Asked if he was worried about his future, Alonso said: “I’m worried about our next match. The important thing here is Real Madrid. It’s about the team, the players, and how I can help them. This isn’t about me.”

Bellingham said the squad was “100%” behind Alonso. “The noise will not be helpful. So it’s about us trying to figure it out inside the dressing room,” he told TNT Sports.

Record 15-time European champions Real are seventh in the standings, with only the top eight teams automatically advancing to the round of 16.

“As a player inside the changing room, seeing what we’ve got in there, working with the coach every day, I think we have everything we need to turn it around,” Bellingham said.

Noni Madueke’s double helped Arsenal win a sixth straight Champions League match this season and close in on the last 16.

The Premier League leaders already have more points (18) than was needed last season to secure a top eight spot and direct qualification for the last 16, and they have two matches still to come.

“We’re fighting on all fronts. I feel like we can win this competition and win the league, that has to be the aim,” Madueke told TNT Sports.

Madueke’s two goals could not have been more different.

The first was a wonder goal in which he beat two players and thrashed in a long-range strike in the 25th.

For the second he was teed up by Martin Zubimendi for a simple finish in the 47th.

Brugge had put the Gunners under fierce first-half pressure but they crumbled after the second goal as Gabriel Martinelli added to their misery, bending the ball around the goalkeeper from outside the box.

“We know how difficult the Champions League is, and to win away from home especially with that many players out, it makes it bigger,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, whose team have seen their lead in England’s top flight cut from six points to two in recent weeks, told TNT.

PSG couldn’t find a winner in Bilbao, but with 13 points after six games, the French giants have already equalled the total amount they picked up in the league phase last season before going on to win the trophy.

PSG had the clearest chances but were denied by four excellent saves from Spain international goalkeeper Unai Simon as they stay third, behind only Arsenal and Bayern Munich, with City fourth.

NEWCASTLE DENIED AT THE DEATH

Substitute Lewis Miley looked to have claimed all three points for Newcastle at the BayArena with a 73rd-minute header after Anthony Gordon’s penalty had cancelled out Bruno Guimaraes’ unfortunate own goal.

However, after the Magpies had twice hit the post, Alejandro Grimaldo snatched a 2-2 draw with an 88th-minute equaliser.

Jeers rang out at full time at Dortmund after Norway’s Bodo/Glimt sealed a draw, equalising twice through Haitam Aleesami and Jens Petter Hauge after Julian Brandt’s brace for Dortmund.

The result helps neither team, with Dortmund’s chances of direct qualification for the round of 16 taking a dent. Bodo/Glimt have three draws but no wins in their debut season.

Weston McKennie and Jonat_han David scored the goals as Juventus overcame Pafos 2-0, while goals from Richard Rios and Leandro Barreiro gave Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 2-0 win over Antonio Conte’s Napoli in a battle of the former Chelsea bosses.

Both Napoli and Juventus have only won two of their six games in the league phase.

Oscar Gloukh scored a brace as Ajax hit three late goals to deny Qarabag a surprise win in one of the early kickoffs and finally open their account in the competition this season.

Victory took them off the bottom of the table and kept alive their slim hopes of making the play-offs, while Villarreal slumped to last position after their home defeat to Copenhagen.

Substitute Andreas Cornelius struck in the 90th to seal victory in a game where Copenhagen had twice been pegged back after taking the lead.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2025