ALL EYES ON BERNABéU: UCL BLOCKBUSTER AS MADRID FACES DEFENSIVE MELTDOWN
Real Madrid faces Man City with an unprecedented eight-player injury crisis, including Militao and Carvajal. City, despite their own injury woes, aims to capitalise on a UCL top-eight finish.
Real Madrid could be without as many as eight of their key players when they play Manchester City in the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Madrid is currently fifth in the group, just two points ahead of Manchester City, who are ninth. This game has become a classic, especially during Pep Guardiola’s time at City.
Since 2020, City has often faced the Spanish team, who have won the Champions League more than any other team. They had mixed results, including their title win in 2023 when they beat Real Madrid in the semi-final and then Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul.
City is doing great in their domestic league, but a surprising 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in Europe, after Guardiola made ten changes to his starting lineup, makes the upcoming game against Real Madrid even more critical.
Last season, Madrid beat Manchester City home and away in the Round of 16, easily winning 6-2 on aggregate. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the second leg in Spain.
City will miss Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, and John Stones due to injuries. They are not expected to play in Wednesday's game in Madrid. Guardiola will give an update on the team's fitness at a press conference on Tuesday.
Fitness is a big worry for Alonso and Madrid, who are missing many important players for one of the biggest games of the season. All eyes will be on the Santiago Bernabeu this week.
Eder Militao has a hamstring injury, Trent Alexander-Arnold is out until February 2026 with a thigh issue, and Dean Huijsen is doubtful because of a muscle injury.
Dani Carvajal recently had knee surgery and will be out for a while. David Alaba might also miss the game against Manchester City as he recovers from a muscle injury, which kept him out of the 2-0 loss to Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Ferland Mendy has only played once for Real Madrid this season due to ongoing fitness problems. It’s unclear when Alonso can count on the Frenchman, especially with a tough schedule ahead that could seriously affect their title hopes.
Kylian Mbappe is dealing with discomfort in his left leg. He missed training on Tuesday and is a major doubt for the game against Manchester City, according to Arancha Rodríguez.
Eduardo Camavinga also missed training because of an ankle injury, confirmed by Fabrice Hawkins. This means he will miss the game against City, who will want to use Madrid’s fitness issues to their advantage on Wednesday.
Manchester City can’t afford to lose two Champions League games in a row. Guardiola and his team will try to win, using their good Premier League form. Still, a draw against Real Madrid is never a bad result.
CORNERED: HOW ALEX GRIMALDO ENDED NEWCASTLE'S AWAY-DAY UCL HOPES AT BAYARENA
Lewis Miley's historic goal looked set to secure a huge UCL win, but Alex Grimaldo's late strike exposed Newcastle's severe issue with conceding goals late in games.
Alex Grimaldo scored late, stopping Newcastle from completing a Champions League comeback win against Bayer Leverkusen, ending the game in a 2-2 draw at the BayArena.
Newcastle thought they had pulled off an amazing turnaround when Lewis Miley wrote his name in the history books, becoming the club's youngest-ever Champions League scorer at 19 with a second-half goal. Anthony Gordon, who had earlier scored Newcastle's tying goal, set up Miley perfectly. The goal raised hopes that Newcastle's struggles away from home were over, but Leverkusen didn't agree.
After losing to Marseille after leading, Gordon lamented Newcastle's tendency to concede goals late in games.
"It's happened way too often," Gordon told TNT Sports after the match. I really don't know why they are scoring late goals. Maybe it's because we're tired with so many games coming up. I think it comes down to mentality.
Newcastle's struggles with late goals continue. They've lost the most points (11) from winning positions in the Premier League this season. Only three teams have lost more points from winning positions in the Champions League than Newcastle this season (5). Of Premier League clubs, only Burnley (8) have let in more goals in the final five minutes of games than Newcastle (7).
After beating Manchester City in their last game, the Bundesliga team had their sights set on another English team when Robert Andrich's header, deflected into his own net by Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes, gave them the lead in the 13th minute.
Leverkusen almost got a second goal when Malick Thiaw fouled Patrick Schick just outside the box. VAR checked if the foul deserved a red card for denying a clear goal-scoring chance, but the original yellow card decision stood.
Newcastle got lucky at one end, and then, in the second half, they couldn't believe their fortune when Mark Flekken's hesitation led to him bringing down Nick Woltemade in the box. Gordon took the penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way to score his fifth Champions League goal of the season.
Newcastle then had their best period, with Gordon hitting the post while seeking a second goal. Miley, who came off the bench, then scored what Newcastle needed to improve their chance of finishing in the top eight. But Grimaldo ruined the party, firing past Aaron Ramsdale to tie the score in the 88th minute.
Howe's team has two more Champions League games in January to try and move into the top eight, starting with Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven at St. James' Park on Jan 21. They will then finish their league games with a tough trip to current champions PSG on Jan 28.
ANALYTICAL: TWO BODO/GLIMT COMEBACKS EXPOSE BORUSSIA DORTMUND'S DEFENSIVE FLAWS
Borussia Dortmund missed a vital chance for UCL knockout stage qualification after an unheralded Bodo/Glimt side came back twice to secure a frustrating 2-2 draw.
Borussia Dortmund's chances of immediately getting to the Champions League knockouts took a hit when Bodo/Glimt came back twice to tie the game.
This tie puts Dortmund at 11 points, a point away from the top eight. The Norwegian team is in 32nd place, still searching for their first win after six games.
Julian Brandt's goal, assisted by Fabio Silva, seemed like it would lead to an easy win for Niko Kovac's team, especially after their big win against Villarreal at home.
But Haitam Aleesami, the experienced defender, scored with a header from a great corner kick, tying the game for the visitors.
In the second half, Jens Petter Hauge, who used to play for AC Milan, scored from close range, tying the game again after Brandt had put Dortmund back in the lead.
Dortmund controlled most of the game, taking 22 shots compared to Bodo/Glimt's seven. Still, Kjetil Knutsen's team earned the praise of their traveling fans when the game ended.
Before the game started, Dortmund icons Dede and Marco Reus were honored on the field. Reus, now with LA Galaxy in MLS, was named a club ambassador. He played over 400 games for Dortmund and was the team's captain for five seasons.
Dortmund's next game is against Tottenham on Tuesday, January 20. Bodo/Glimt will play Manchester City on the same night.