MANCHESTER, England, March 17 (Reuters) - Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr scored twice as the Spanish side eased into the Champions League quarter‑finals on Tuesday, beating 10-man Manchester City 2-1 in an entertaining match at the Etihad Stadium to complete a 5-1 aggregate victory.
It is the third successive season in which Real Madrid have eliminated City from the Champions League.
Vinicius put the visitors ahead from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute after the VAR judged Bernardo Silva to have handled his shot on the line, a decision that also reduced City to 10 men and made an already daunting task seemingly impossible.
Vinicius, who had just clattered a shot off the post before Silva's handball, rubbed salt in the wound with a crying gesture to City's 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 the Brazilian) 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 levelled in the 41st minute with his first goal since February 11 when he tapped in a pass from Jeremy Doku from close range, but with the tie already tilted heavily 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 last 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 had screamed for a penalty in the first half after what appeared to be a handball by Fran Garcia in the box.
Real's travelling fans were similarly outraged when Kylian Mbappe, who was a second-half substitute in his first game since February 21 due to a knee strain, appeared to be tugged down in the box.
The Spaniards, 15-times 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 quarter-finals and Guardiola turns his attention to Sunday's League Cup final against Arsenal, while undoubtedly taking a measure of 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 terms of a tactical way, 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."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; editing by Clare Fallon)
