Haaland shocks Real while Arsenal keep flawless run in Brugge

Erling Haaland netted his 34th goal of the season for club and country to secure a 2-1 victory for Manchester City over Real Madrid on Wednesday, while Arsenal preserved their unbeaten group stage form with a 3-0 triumph against Club Brugge.

This marked a second straight loss at home for Real after their 2-0 setback to Celta Vigo over the weekend, adding further strain on manager Xabi Alonso, whose team has managed only two wins in their past eight outings across all tournaments.

For Haaland, it represented his 21st strike in 21 matches for City this term and his 51st in 50 Champions League appearances, with Nico O'Reilly claiming his debut goal in the tournament.

"(The) match felt somewhat disorganised, we struggled to dominate it. Still, we grabbed the victory at the end, absolutely delighted," Haaland shared with TNT Sports, highlighting the significance of recovering from their previous home loss to Bayer Leverkusen.

"Just two fixtures remaining. We must end on a high note and aim to hit the top eight for automatic progression."

Rodrygo put Real ahead shortly before the 30-minute mark without Kylian Mbappe in the lineup, firing a precise effort past Gianluigi Donnarumma into the bottom corner.

However, the young academy graduate O'Reilly levelled the score only seven minutes afterwards, pouncing first to tap in the rebound from close range following Thibaut Courtois' stop on Josko Gvardiol's headed effort.

Haaland then put City ahead from 12 yards on the 43rd minute after VAR awarded a penalty for Antonio Rudiger's foul on the Norwegian striker as he went for a delivery into the box.

Things might have deteriorated further for Real, yet Courtois made up for his earlier mistake on Gvardiol's header with a vital double stop to thwart Haaland and Rayan Cherki in rapid succession near half-time.

The second period was frantic and open, with Jude Bellingham missing a chance to do better by lofting the ball over Donnarumma when one-on-one, and Courtois tipping Jeremy Doku's attempt away.

Vinicius Jr. missed a potential leveller late on by blasting his volley high after Donnarumma flapped at a curling corner.

Replacement Endrick nearly connected but headed against the crossbar as Real chased an equaliser in the closing stages.

"We're in a tough spot right now, both the team and (Alonso) too. It's not clicking... we aimed to demonstrate unity with the manager," Rodrygo commented, having embraced his criticised coach on the touchline post-match.

Arsenal near qualification for knockout phase

Noni Madueke's brace propelled Arsenal to a sixth consecutive Champions League success this season, positioning them close to the last 16.

The Premier League frontrunners already hold more points (18) than required last year for a top-eight finish and straight entry to the knockout rounds, with two games yet to play.

"We're battling across multiple fronts. I believe we can claim this trophy and the domestic title, that should be our target," Madueke said to TNT Sports.

Madueke's pair of goals varied greatly in style.

His opener was a stunning effort, where he evaded two defenders before unleashing a powerful shot from distance.

The follow-up came as a straightforward tap-in after Martin Zubimendi set him up nicely.

Club Brugge mounted intense pressure on the Gunners during the opening 45 minutes, but they fell apart post the second strike, with Gabriel Martinelli compounding their woes by curling a shot beyond the keeper from range.

In other action, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain drew 0-0 away to Athletic Bilbao yet held onto third place, trailing only Arsenal and Bayern Munich, as City sat fourth.

Weston McKennie and Jonathan David found the net to give Juventus a 2-0 success over Pafos, while Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle ended 2-2, matching the scoreline between Borussia Dortmund and Bodo/Glimt.

Richard Rios and Leandro Barreiro struck for Jose Mourinho's Benfica in a 2-0 defeat of Antonio Conte's Napoli, pitting two ex-Chelsea managers against each other.

Oscar Gloukh bagged a double as Ajax netted three times late on for a 4-2 victory at Qarabag, marking their first points in the competition this year.

The win lifted them from the foot of the standings and sustained faint play-off aspirations, whereas Villarreal dropped to the base after losing 3-2 at home to FC Copenhagen.