Real Madrid instant reaction to Gabriel Jesus gives Man City what they wanted

Gabriel Jesus rocks Real

From the first minute, the Real Madrid defence was unsettled. Gabriel Jesus went to press Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao showed more interest in doing anything he could to stop the run, than he did in following the play.

Mind you, they had good reason to be worried. Jesus showed exquisite skill to turn in the box and score Manchester City's second of the night to send the stadium wild.

The rest of us should not have been surprised either as the Brazilian striker showed once more that he is ready to be a key player in City's run-in. If it seemed a shock to play him in the crunch league game against Liverpool earlier this month, six goals and two assists from his last four starts show that a player who may not even be at the Etihad next season could be crucial to their hopes of the big two trophies over the next few weeks.

Also read: Man City and Real Madrid put on a Champions League classic but Blues might have regret

Fernandinho rolls back the years

For all City's blockbuster start, they were in danger of collapsing like a sandcastle against Real Madrid. A defence that was rock solid to deny Atletico a single goal over 180 minutes teetered before Karim Benzema got the visitors back into the tie, and the sight of Fernandinho coming on to replace the injured John Stones — a gamble of a selection that didn't pay off — had City fans wondering if their magnificent start was going to be completely wiped out on the scoreboard.

Enter Fernandinho though, with the most surprising performance since he announced his decision to leave the club in a routine press conference before the quarter-final. The 36-year-old left Vinicius on the floor with a dummied first touch and was soon seen bombing past