Erling Haalandenjoyed a comical exchange with Arda Gulerduring Manchester City's 2-1 win over Real Madrid. The 25-year-old forward bagged the match-winner for Pep Guardiola's men at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.

After Rodrygo's opener for Los Blancos on 28th minutes, City flipped the script before the break as Nico O'Reilly continued his impressive form with the leveller before Haaland converted from the penalty spot. Though the second period failed to produce any further goals, one particular incident had supporters both in the ground and at home thoroughly entertained.

The amusing scene unfolded in the 62nd minute during a City corner, with diminutive Guler - standing at just 5ft 7in - tasked with keeping tabs on the towering 6ft 4in Haaland.

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As the corner kick was prepared, Guler could be seen clutching Haaland around the midriff before the striker chuckled and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Haaland is the most likeable player itw," one supporter commented on the exchange. "Haaland is a likeable sportsman," remarked another.

"This is funny. Little and large," penned a third. "Arda was marking Haaland! [laughing face emoji, skull face emoji]," wrote a fourth.

Whilst many were amused by the moment, some questioned Real boss Xabi Alonso's decision to assign Guler to mark Haaland. Fortunately for both him and Real, the corner was dealt with before it could reach the striker lurking at the far post.

Reflecting on his team's performance and the result against City, Alonso said after the match: "It was a very competitive match with different moments. We started strongly with Rodrygo's goal and a few other chances, but when you're not at your best mentally, in ten minutes they took the lead from very little, with the corner and the penalty. The team kept going right until the end and hasn't lost face despite all the difficulties we're facing, like injuries.

"The players gave it everything they had, and I have nothing to criticise today. I really value their attitude. We have to keep going. It's the Champions League.

"At the moment, the results aren't as good as we'd like. We're critical, we demand a lot of ourselves, and we understand the fans. We have to keep working hard. We believe we'll get through this because everything passes, and I'm convinced we can do it."

For City, the victory proved vital in enhancing their prospects of securing a top-eight finish and automatic qualification for the knockout rounds. They currently occupy fourth position with 13 points from six matches.

However, despite triumphing over Real in the Spanish capital, Guardiola remained cautious about their European title prospects this campaign. "We're not ready, we're still far from it," the Spaniard admitted. We'll be better in February.

"We've played matches like this before, and we've even performed better in games we lost. The players put in a big effort, but we still have a lot of progress to make."

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