Man City rallies to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in Champions League

MADRID (AP) — Manchester City scored two late goals five minutes apart to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of the last 16 in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Francisco “Isco” Alarcón put Madrid ahead in the 60th minute after a mistake by Man City midfielder Rodri, but Gabriel Jesus evened the match with a header in the 78th and Kevin De Bruyne scored the winner by converting an 83rd-minute penalty after a foul by Dani Carvajal on substitute Raheem Sterling.

Madrid played the final minutes without defender Sergio Ramos after he was shown a red card for a foul to stop an 86th-minute breakaway by Jesus.

The return match in England will be on March 17.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City, likely playing in its last Champions League before having to serve a two-year ban from UEFA, was the most dangerous team throughout the match but couldn’t get past Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois until Jesus’ close-range header.

UEFA recently handed Man City a ban from European competitions for the next two seasons after a panel found that it had seriously breached financial regulations and failed to cooperate with investigators. The club filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but if the punishment stands, City won’t be back in the Champions League until the 2022-23 season.