Real Madrid expose awkward Man City questions despite Pep Guardiola plan working

Manchester City could have got through with a 0-0 draw but Riyad Mahrez's goal should have made for a much less nervous final 15 minutes as they restored their two-goal advantage. Mahrez had started but substitutes Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ilkay Gundogan were heavily involved in the build-up to find Bernardo Silva in the sort of space that had not been there all game.

Whether it was the individuals themselves or just the change that disrupted Real, the Liga champions looked to have paid for that lapse in concentration. After the initial changes, Jack Grealish then went agonisingly close not once but twice to adding to the lead in what would have killed Real off before their incredible comeback.

A perfect use of the five substitution rule that has only just been deemed palatable in England will be no consolation to Pep Guardiola as he reflects on another painful Champions League exit, but shows what can be done.

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This wasn't a dominant performance from City as the first leg was, and for considerable periods of the game they were forced to dig in as Real piled on the pressure. The visitors could only muster around 30 per cent of possession in the opening 15 minutes, and could not sustain long periods of keeping the ball themselves.

However, their use of tempo in the match was spot on up until the 90th minute. When they were under the cosh they slowed it down as much as possible to take the sting out of the Real momentum - Ederson was warned as early as the 12th minute for taking too long over his goal-kicks. And when they needed to, they pressed hard and got their reward with the Mahrez goal.

After 89 minutes of maturity, City threw it all away in ten crazy minutes. Not