Real Madrid dominated their tie against Manchester City for almost 65 minutes, goalkeeper Hart almost single-handedly preventing a cricket score as Real attacked and attacked, until a quick break saw Edin Dzeko put the ball in the net to give City a surprise lead.
Marcelo equalised for Real but City had woken up and once again took the lead from a free kick, Aleksandar Kolarov the scorer.
With just three minutes remaining, City were 2-1 up, but in a frantic few minutes it all changed again. Benzema equalised for Real with a display of skill inside the area and a shot into the bottom corner of the goal.
Real pressed forward again, as they had done for most of the game and it was Cristiano Ronaldo who sealed victory for the home side after Kompany ducked out of the way his shot and it flew into the goal.
An entertaining match overall, plenty of action, 37 shots at goal and some great performances, Marcelo, Di Maria and Hart in particular.
Madrid’s record in the first home match of the competition, in its various guises, is quite impressive: 41 wins and two draws, the last draw being against Anderlecht some 50 years ago.