A few weeks after Real Madrid claimed a record-extending 15th Champions League title by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley in May an imperious Spain steamrollered all before them to triumph in the European Championship.
City, who are looking to qualify for Europe's top club competition for a 15th straight season, have won just one of their last eight Premier League games and are seventh, 12 points behind leaders Liverpool.
The Brazilian had been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in a 1-0 victory for the Premier League and Champions League leaders at Crystal Palace on October 5.
Barcelona's young team can learn from the setbacks they have faced in their LaLiga campaign and continue to improve, manager Hansi Flick said on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League meeting with Borussia Dortmund.
"We have to survive the season, every game, try to take points, to try to win games and go forward," said Man City coach Pep Guardiola.
Real Madrid have endured a series of injuries this season, with several key players missing significant time, including Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao who are out for the rest of the campaign with ACL tears.
The Premier League leaders are top of the European standings with a 100 percent record and on Tuesday face a Girona side down in 30th, with four defeats in five matches.
Off the back of a fabulous campaign in which they won record-extending titles in LaLiga and the Champions League, Real have struggle in their European title defence, losing three of their last four continental matches.
Six players from Champions League winners Real Madrid and four from Manchester City feature in this year’s FIFPRO World 11 announced on Monday by the global players' association, with Lionel Messi absent for the first time in almost 20 years.
Struggling in Europe after back-to-back losses left them outside the knockout places, Musiala broke through the stubborn Benfica defence, heading in a Harry Kane assist.
The Italian champions remain undefeated in the competition this season and sit fifth on 10 points at the midway point of the new league phase format.
It was another commanding victory for LaLiga leaders Barcelona who are in an imperious vein of form, scoring 24 goals in six successive wins in all competitions, including thrashings of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
City's 4-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday was a third straight loss for the English champions -- the first time that has happened since 2018.
Hammered 4-0 by rivals Barcelona in the Clasico at the end of October, Los Blancos slumped to a second consecutive home defeat on Tuesday in Europe, with AC Milan triumphing 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Since Milan's triumph under Carlo Ancelotti in Athens 17 years ago Madrid have won the Champions League six times, three of those victories coming with Ancelotti in the dugout.
Alonso, who scored as Liverpool won the 2005 Champions League final, was reportedly the Reds' top target to replace Jurgen Klopp as manager at the end of last season.
Los Blancos' La Liga match against Valencia on Saturday was postponed because of the situation in the east of Spain, where at least 217 people have died and many more are missing.
Nunez sprang forward to prod home the goal-bound ball, grabbing his first Champions League goal since February 2023.
The Norwegian scored twice, including a backheel at shoulder height, as City ran riot against the Czech champions.
