22 Nov 2012

City out of Europe

11:47 am on 22 November 2012

Manchester City are out of European football's Champions League despite the English champions coming back to draw 1-1 at home to Spain's Real Madrid.

Real went ahead after 10 minutes when Karim Benzema was left unmarked and in space to score with the goal at his mercy, but City, outplayed in the first half, improved in the second and equalised with a Sergio Aguero penalty after 74 minutes.

Real defender Alvaro Arbeloa was sent off for fouling Aguero and conceding the penalty which the Argentine swept home having missed a golden opportunity to score in the 65th minute when Iker Casillas made a point-blank save.

German champions Borussia Dortmund thrashed Ajax Amsterdam 4-1 in the Netherlands to qualify top of the group while Real went through in second place.

City are last in the group and could miss out on the second-tier Europa League to Ajax, with one game to go.