Kenti Robles injury-time equaliser saw Real Madrid draw 1-1 with Manchester City in their Uefa Women's Champions League round two tie.

Caroline Weir thought she had put Manchester City on course for group stage qualification, but her second-half strike proved not to be enough for the blues.

They will carry the draw back to Manchester for the second leg next Wednesday, and the winner of that game will progress to the first UWCL group stage. 

The match

Real piled on the pressure throughout the first half, but to no avail as they squandered chance after chance in front of goal. Esther Gonzalez may have netted 40 times in 34 games for Levante last season, but she failed to capitalise on the opportunities which she was gifted.

City were without Keira Walsh, who head coach Gareth Taylor confirmed didn't travel due to a minor injury which the club are awaiting imagery of to see its precise nature, and her absence was evident in midfield. The blues were sloppy and lacked their usual knack for breaking up play, affording Real far too many chances from City errors.

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No moment summed up Esther's goalscoring problems as much as her penalty miss in the first half. When Bunny Shaw was adjudged to have fouled Ivana Andres inside the box, the referee pointed to the spot, but her effort soared over the crossbar.

And shortly after the break, the blues turned the game in their favour thanks to a defensive error from the Madrid side. When a defender only managed to clear the ball as far as Weir, the Scottish midfielder pounced and got her account underway for the season, rifling into the bottom-right corner.

Jill Scott came close to doubling City's lead in the 78th minute when she rose powerfully in the box and guided the ball into the back of the net, but it was chalked off by the referee due to a foul on Real goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez.

But it was not to be for Taylor's side and the Spaniards, who had played so well throughout the game, got their just rewards when Kenti Robles tucked a low effort in from the edge of the box to draw the scores level for las Blancas.

Aside from the result, it was a night of debuts for a blues squad which both through recruitment and injury was much changed from that which was usually seen last season; Bunny Shaw, Hayley Raso and Vicky Losada all picked up their first appearances for the club.

With this being a qualification tie, the away goals rule is not being used

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