Wolfsburg shock Real

Real Madrid’s hopes of an 11th European title were left hanging by a thread as they slumped to a shock 2-0 loss at Germany's Champions League novices VfL Wolfsburg in their quarterfinal first leg on Wednesday.

The Germans were celebrating a memorable last-eight debut after Ricardo Rodriguez's penalty in the 18th minute and Maximilian Arnold's strike in the 25th stunned the visitors only four days after their 'Clasico' win in Spain over Barcelona.

Despite making just one change to the lineup that started against Barca, Real coach Zinedine Zidane's team will now go into the return leg in Madrid next Tuesday with a clear disadvantage.

The Germans, last season's Bundesliga runners-up who had scored only one goal in their last three matches, were more aggressive than the Spaniards and used all of their  their chances extremely well.

The Spaniards, who saw Karim Benzema limp off with a foot injury in the 40th minute, enjoyed a strong start but never recovered from the quick two-goal punch and were lucky not to have conceded a third in the second half.

Real needed only 90 seconds to put the ball in the net but Cristiano Ronaldo's effort was ruled offside.

They kept up the pressure and Frenchman Benzema came close minutes later when his shot was blocked by Wolfsburg's Diego Benaglio.

But it was the hosts who struck first after being awarded a penalty when Andre Schuerrle went down in the box in a challenge with Casemiro.

Swiss international Rodriguez sent Keylor Navas the wrong way before Wolfsburg struck again seven minutes later with Arnold sliding in to complete a superb passing move that left the Real backline dazed.

Things got even worse for the Spanish side as Benzema was taken off minutes before the break and Real struggled to develop any traction in their attacking game in the second half.

Champions League top scorer Ronaldo was rarely left without two players marking him and he was also denied by Benaglio in their one-on-one in the 70th as Real grew more desperate, pouring forward in search of a goal.

Wolfsburg kept threatening to extend their lead and although Schuerrle twice failed to score despite racing clear, it did not prevent the Germans from condemning Real to their first defeat this season in the competition.

City shine

Manchester City claimed a vital edge in their quarterfinal tie against Paris St Germain after grabbing two away goals in a scrappy 2-2 first leg draw on Wednesday.

PSG, playing in their fourth straight quarterfinal in the competition, fell behind when Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 38th minute, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic capitalised on a City blunder to level, having earlier missed a penalty.

The home side, who had exited at this stage for the last three seasons, then took the lead through Adrien Rabiot just before the hour but Fernandinho made it 2-2 after benefiting from a PSG mistake.

City, who are playing in the quarterfinals for the first time, will host PSG at the Etihad stadium next Tuesday, where boss Manuel Pellegrini is hoping for more of the same.

PSG, crowned Ligue 1 champions last month, were boosted by the return of Serge Aurier, who was handed his first start since insulting coach Laurent Blanc in February while City welcomed back Joe Hart and the keeper made his presence count.