Man City have just changed the Champions League for good ...Middle East

BERNABEU — Mission complete. The final boss beaten into submission, in its own back yard, worn down by four successive defeats to the English for only the second time in its illustrious history.

For years, we were told the Premier League was the pinnacle of the modern game, attracting the best players, coaches and unmatched global audiences, all while Spanish clubs dominated the continent’s premier competition.

Spanish clubs won five successive Champions League crowns between 2014 and 2018, with Atletico Madrid competing in two all-Spanish finals in that run.

The European Cup’s most successful son, Real Madrid, garnered two more titles in the years that followed, sending the best the Premier League had to offer packing enroute to yet more Iberian glory.

Now, however, the balance of power has turned on its head. It’s not even a fair battle anymore. Manchester City’s comeback victory in the Bernabeu on Wednesday night made it nine victories for English sides against their Spanish counterparts in the last 10 meetings.

And that only Spanish success came about, just to further reinforce the point, thanks to two goals from Englishman Marcus Rashford up at Newcastle United.

“It’s a number of things [not working],” Spanglishman Jude Bellingham said after the match. “We are still trying to work it out within the changing room regardless of what goes on outside.

“We know that noise will not be helpful. It’s about us figuring it out inside the dressing room.”

The ramifications of yet another Madrid defeat for coach Xabi Alonso could allow English clubs to maintain a Real-like stranglehold over the continent for years to come.

That’s what makes City’s victory all the more sweeter. A Madrid in disarray is no easy fix.

squareKEVIN GARSIDE

Carragher's outrage over Salah is absurd - what do Liverpool expect?

Not many teams anticipate the visit of City more than Madrid. Locals have dubbed this encounter “El Clasico Moderno” given the regularity they have faced the figure they love to hate more than anyone else in recent years.

Wednesday’s meeting with old Spanish separatist foe Pep Guardiola was the 15th time Real and City have faced each other since their first clash in 2012-13 – the most-played Champions League fixture during this period.

Perhaps the whole thinking behind the new Swiss Champions League model revolved around preserving this mini head-to-head franchise – justification for flooding our diaries with even more games.

Those 15 matches have averaged almost three-and-a-half goals per game. The latest edition of the World Series didn’t not disappoint.

There is no stadium more befitting of such an occasion, with the roof closed to add those few extra decibels to Madridistas’ cacophony of boos upon the announcement of the teams’ coaches. Quite whether the locals’ ire was in the direction of Guardiola or the increasingly unpopular Alonso wasn’t completely clear cut.

The more-fickle-than-most Madridistas were firmly behind their under-fire Mister after a lightning start saw Rodrygo, often the scourge of City, arrow the hosts into an early lead – the Brazilian’s first goal in 32 games, a run stretching back to March.

Your next read

Isak’s damning stats show Liverpool have a bigger problem than Salah

Tottenham tell fans to move LGBT+ flag over fears of Slavia Prague backlash

Carragher’s outrage over Salah is absurd – what do Liverpool expect?

Mo Salah’s bombshell feels like a ploy to get Arne Slot sacked

The atmosphere became somewhat vitriolic after Erling Haaland’s penalty was dispatched just before the break – the Norse goalscoring machine’s unfathomable 51st Champions League goal on his 50th start in the competition – to complete a City turnaround and set the English side enroute to that war-ending final battle victory.

The kind of whistles that greeted the final whistle will still be ringing in Alonso’s ears now. They don’t forget quickly here. The former Guardiola protege has lost the fans and the dressing room. Florentino Perez will take some convincing otherwise.

With Barcelona far from at the peak of their powers, with financial troubles struggling to dog their progress as they navigate moving into a new stadium, the Spanish fleet was there for the taking.

And, once more, Britannia rules the waves.

Hence then, the article about man city have just changed the champions league for good was published today ( Thursday 11/12/2025 - 01:50 PM ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Man City have just changed the Champions League for good )

Also on site :

• One person in critical condition following two-vehicle collision on SR-126 at Boosey Road
• Kentucky congressman announces death of longtime staffer, campaign manager
• Camarillo man arrested after stolen camera reactivated and installed on the exterior of a home