Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. scored twice as the Spanish giants advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals, defeating a 10-man Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday to seal a 5-1 aggregate triumph.
For the third consecutive season, Real Madrid have knocked City out of the competition.
Vinicius opened the scoring in the 22nd minute from the penalty spot after VAR ruled that Bernardo Silva had handled his shot on the line, a decision that also reduced City to 10 men and made their comeback task even more daunting.
Having just rattled the post with a powerful strike, Vinicius added insult to injury with a mocking crying gesture aimed at the home fans.
"The last time we came here, the Manchester City fans, who put up a banner that read 'Stop crying' after Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d'Or ahead of me, were making fun of me," Vinicius said. "I wasn't disrespecting City fans, but it was a way for me to prove myself to them."
Pep Guardiola's men were not waving the white flag, however, and Erling Haaland leveled in the 41st minute with his first goal since Feb. 11, tapping in a pass from Jeremy Doku from close range. But with the tie already heavily tilted by Madrid's dominant first leg, City's hopes of a comeback never truly gathered momentum.
City's Doku and Rayan Ait-Nouri and Real Madrid's Federico Valverde and Vinicius had second-half goals chalked off before Vinicius completed his brace with the final kick of the game from the edge of the six-yard box in the 93rd minute.
The Brazilian darted between two City defenders to meet Aurelien Tchouameni's pass with a volley that Gianluigi Donnarumma had little chance of stopping.
City fans screamed for a penalty in the first half after what appeared to be a handball by Fran Garcia in the box.
Real's traveling fans were similarly outraged when Kylian Mbappe, a second-half substitute making his first appearance since Feb. 21 due to a knee strain, appeared to be tugged down in the box.
The Spaniards, 15-time winners of Europe's elite club competition, had stunned 2023 champions Manchester City 3-0 in last week's first leg in Madrid when Valverde struck a hat trick.
"Okay, 3-0, it's almost impossible, but try it," Guardiola said. "And we were there... but yeah, 5-1, congratulate Madrid again. The future will be bright. Next season we will be back."
Now Alvaro Arbeloa's men march into the quarterfinals, and Guardiola turns his attention to Sunday's League Cup final against Arsenal while undoubtedly taking pride in the way his team managed an almost insurmountable challenge on Tuesday.
"It was a really tough tie against a team like this who have such talent," Arbeloa said. "There's happiness, there's joy because of the performance, and this continues."
Asked about beating Guardiola, Arbeloa deflected praise to his players.
"I wouldn't dare to say I can beat Pep Guardiola in a tactical sense. He's an elite coach; he's won thousands of trophies in his career, and what we've won is a tie," he said. "I believe the players deserve the recognition for the work they put in."
