Real Madrid and Manchester City have met ten times on the Champions League stage in the last five years, producing a sequence of tightly contested and decisive encounters.

The 2024–25 knockout playoff produced a standout second leg at the Bernabéu, where Kylian Mbappé scored in the fourth minute, doubled his side’s lead just after the half hour and completed a 61st-minute hat trick. He became the first player in Champions League history to score thrice at the Bernabéu and the Camp Nou. Nico González scored late but Madrid advanced on the night.

That tie had begun at the Etihad with both sides out of form. Erling Haaland and Mbappé traded early blows. Haaland thought he had sealed the game from the spot in the 80th minute, but Brahim Díaz and Jude Bellingham responded with two goals in six minutes to give Real Madrid the advantage heading to the return leg.

On Apr. 17, 2024 at the Etihad, Rodrygo opened in the 12th minute and Kevin De Bruyne levelled in the 76th. The match remained tied after extra time and was decided on penalties, where Andriy Lunin saved spot kicks from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovačić to eliminate the defending champions.

The Bernabéu first leg of the 2023–24 quarterfinal featured an early Bernardo Silva strike, a Rúben Dias own goal and Rodrygo’s response. Phil Foden and Joško Gvardiol put City ahead before Federico Valverde forced a draw.

On May 13, 2023, City overwhelmed Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2022–23 semifinals. Bernardo Silva scored twice in the first half, with Manuel Akanji and Julián Alvarez adding further goals to seal a comprehensive victory that propelled City to the final.

The 2022–23 first leg saw Vinicius Junior score in the 36th minute and De Bruyne equalise from nearly the same area. The 2021–22 return in Madrid produced Rodrygo’s two late goals to force extra time and Karim Benzema’s penalty in extra time completed a memorable comeback.

Their 2021–22 first leg at the Etihad finished 4–3 after a flood of goals from both sides. In 2019–20, the round of 16 ties were split: the first leg ended 2–1 to City after a De Bruyne penalty and a late red for Sergio Ramos; the second leg at empty stands saw Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus secure a 2–1 win following Raphaël Varane errors and a Benzema reply.

Across these ten matches, small margins and dramatic swings repeatedly decided who advanced.

A compact midweek schedule left Premier League sides playing three games in seven days, producing surprise results and notable individual displays. Using FotMob’s match ratings, these five performances from Gameweek 15 stood out.

Anthony Gordon influenced Newcastle United’s 2–1 win over ten-man Burnley on Saturday. Newcastle’s victory was routine for long periods, aside from a nervy spell after Burnley were awarded a spot kick, and Gordon was central to the attack. He scored from the penalty spot, completed more dribbles (3) than anyone on the pitch, hit the woodwork twice and created two chances. His showing even managed to outshine teammate Bruno Guimarães.

Xavi Simons provided Tottenham Hotspur with a goal and an assist against Brentford. Simons supplied a pinpoint cross for Richarlison’s tap-in opener, then produced a composed solo finish. He recovered possession in his own half, robbed Brentford, sped into the penalty area and slid the ball beyond Caoimhín Kelleher. The result will give Tottenham optimism that Simons can build momentum after a quiet start to English football.

Hugo Ekitiké was one bright figure in Liverpool’s 3–3 draw with Leeds United. Starting ahead of Alexander Isak, the French forward troubled Leeds throughout and made decisive contributions in the second half. He capitalised on a misplaced pass from Joe Rodon to score into the bottom corner, and then converted Conor Bradley’s cross with the aid of a ricochet off Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perri.

Rayan Cherki produced an eye-catching performance in Manchester City’s 3–0 win over Sunderland. Limited earlier by an early-season injury, he displayed a range of flicks and tricks and provided a rabona assist for Phil Foden. He also registered a second assist that owed much to Rúben Dias’s long-range effort. Cherki completed more dribbles (5) and created more chances (6) than any other player on the pitch, and he played a key role in breaking down Sunderland’s five-man rearguard.

Pep Guardiola downplayed the flair of Rayan Cherki’s rabona assist after Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over Sunderland and urged the young midfielder to embrace simpler playmaking principles.

The rabona set-up helped the Cityzens to a win that left the 11-time English champions two points behind league-leaders Arsenal, who were stunned in stoppage time by Aston Villa. “I never saw Messi play a cross like he has done,” the Spanish boss said. “Messi is the best player to play the game but I never saw these kind of crosses.

“Crosses are fine, right or left or which part of your feet, it doesn’t matter. If it is effective, it is fine, but I like the simplicity because I learned from Messi that I never make a mistake with the simple things.

“The simple things he does perfectly, then he dribbles past four or five players. I want players to do the simple things well and after that you have special talent and he can do whatever he wants.

“But if he doesn’t work now, it will be a problem. He will be in trouble,” Guardiola finished

Unlike his manager, Cherki left the Etihad smiling. The 22-year-old produced two assists, created the most chances (six) and completed the most dribbles (five) in the match. “I worked for that [assist],” Cherki told BBC after the match. “I know my quality, which is my technique, when I play with Phil, Erling [Haaland], Omar [Marmoush], it’s very important to give the good balls for them.”

The France international, who left Lyon to join Man City this summer in a deal worth an initial £30.45 million ($40.6 million), later posted on social media: “Great day at work,” Cherki shared on X. “Thank you for the support.”

The summer signing leads the Premier League in assists this season with five despite only playing 350 minutes. His teammate Erling Haaland has found the back of the net 15 times in the English top flight in 2025/26.