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Manchester City are revelling in a big win in the Bernabeu after beating Real Madrid in the Champions League and these are the key takeaways from the Spanish capital.
Manchester City are back in control of their Champions League destiny and on course for a top-eight finish in the league phase of the Champions League after an impressive win against Real Madrid. The Blues came from behind to win 2-1 in the Bernabeu, securing what looked like a statement win against a team Pep Guardiola calls the Kings of Europe.
It was a fourth win in a row in all competitions for City and kept the momentum going as they close in on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. The Manchester Evening News were in Madrid this week and these are the key takeaways from a City point of view:
Guardiola's good mood
Pep Guardiola has been entertaining in press conferences recently, and his body language and mood look to be a lot better than they were at the start of the season. Guardiola cut a miserable and frustrated figure watching his team lose at Brighton in August, but the energy is back now.
He was on top form in Madrid and the reference to an insult the press pack in the Spanish capital used to throw at him 15 years ago was said with a smile and a wink. It showed Guardiola's long memory when it comes to Real, although for the English media in attendance, it also created plenty of puzzlement
. The answer to a question on advice for Xabi Alonso was delivered in Spanish, and when it was translated through our headsets as "he should pee with his own", we looked at each other, confused. Thankfully, a few Spanish journalists came over to help us out, and it became clear the reference to cologne was Guardiola revisiting that jibe from when he was Barcelona boss and getting under the skin of everyone in Madrid. He looks to be loving life at the moment.
O'Reilly's latest breakthrough
A penny for the thoughts of Rayan Ait-Nouri. The left-back swapped Molineux for the Etihad for nights like these, but spent the whole game watching from the bench and wasn't even called on when Nico O'Reilly went down late on, clearly shattered from another memorable night.
His equaliser settled City down, but he delivered another excellent performance, charging down the left flank and linking up well with Jeremy Doku. He could possibly have got tighter to Rodrygo for the first goal but showed great pace to win the ball ahead of the Brazilian in the penalty area in the second half.
O'Reilly was City's best player on the night and he has locked down that left-back position. Every time a new challenge arrives, he greets it head-on and shows he has what it takes.
A statement - but more to do
Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference that winning in the Bernabeu could be the type of result that proves to a new team they have what it takes to be successful, so it was interesting to hear him row back a touch on that after the match.
He wasn't getting carried away in his post-match press conference and spent most of it discussing the performance and how standards would have to rise if they were to reach the semi-finals or final of this competition.
That is certainly true. It was a statement win without a statement performance, but as interesting was Guardiola's conviction that his team will "100%" get to the level required.
He has portrayed this title race as one where the team that grows the most will emerge victorious. He clearly feels this City team has plenty of room to do just that, but the question is, does Arsenal? It's a clever narrative for Guardiola to push.
The perfect double
A memorable seven hours in Madrid for City. The Under-19s kicked off their final UEFA Youth League group game at Real's Alfredo di Stefano academy stadium at 4pm local time and produced a dazzling performance to win 4-0.
It ended Real's perfect record in the league phase and they had conceded just three goals in five games before Ben Wilkinson's side ran riot. City finished 10th to book their own place in the last-32 and ended with a 6-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen and a 4-0 triumph against Real, which suggests they might have what it takes to make a run for the trophy this season. It is the one piece of silverware missing from the academy's trophy cabinet.
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