Real Madrid 3-0 Man City: Federico Valverde’s stunning hat-trick leaves Pep Guardiola’s side on verge of

Match report as Federico Valverde’s amazing hat-trick led rampant Real Madrid to 3-0 victory over Manchester City; Pep Guardiola’s side’s Champions League hopes are hanging by a string ahead of next week’s second leg at the Etihad Stadium

Manchester City concede a third goal to Real Madrid

Federico Valverde was the star of the show
Federico Valverde’s brilliant first-half hat-trick secured Real Madrid a stunning 3-0 win over Manchester City, who have a mountain to climb to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

Real Madrid, who were missing the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo, were distinct second-favourites heading into the game but they produced a clinical opening 45 minutes as Valverde stole the show at the Bernabeu.

Thibaut Courtois’s long pass over the head of Nico O’Reilly was exquisitely controlled by Valverde as his first touch took him in on goal. He rounded Gianluigi Donnarumma, who had charged out to the edge of his penalty area, before slid the ball it home from an extremely tight angle to give the hosts the lead (20).

The goal had came somewhat against the run of play after what was a fast start from City but Real Madrid took full control of the game when Valverde popped up behind the City defense to latch onto Vinicius Jnr’s flicked pass and finish beyond Donnarumma again (27).

The first half was the Valverde show and he capped a phenomenal performance with arguably his best goal of the night. He showed an excellent touch to bring the ball down inside the penalty area and flick it past Marc Geuhi. Donnarumma hurried out to make a block but Valverde flashed a shot past him (42) for a first career hat-trick and to put the hosts in dreamland.

After Real Madrid‘s disastrous first-half performance, Manchester City’s odds to win the Champions League had gone from 9/1 to 33/1 but they could have lengthened further had it not been for Donnarumma in the second half.

The City goalkeeper had to be alert to keep out Brahim Diaz’s low drive minutes after the restart as City threatened to collapse.

Donnarumma then atoned for his early error after he brought down Vinicius Jnr, who was through on goal. The Italian recovered by keeping out the Brazilian’s lackluster penalty in a moment City hoped might swing some momentum back in their favor.

However, Pep Guardiola’s side found Courtois in inspired form, the former Chelsea goalkeeper showing fine reactions to divert O’Reilly’s tackle-shot over the crossbar with his leg to leave City’s Champions League hopes hanging by a string ahead of next week’s second leg at the Etihad.

Pep: Man City have ‘not much’ chance against Real but will always try

Guardiola admitted Man City had “not much” chance but refused to rule out a dramatic fightback in the second leg next week.

“It is a bad result, we cannot deny it,” Guardiola said.

“The first goal was not well defended and after the quality they had with Valverde and the other players, it was a difficult result.

“But obviously 3-0 is better than 4-0. We have six days. We will recover, go to West Ham, then with our people we will try.”

Asked what chance City had, Guardiola added: “Now, not much but I’m not a guy to say we’re not going to try.”

“Now it is most difficult (moment) to live but our mindset is we will look (at) what to do better, try to be more active in the final third and we will try.”

Player Ratings: Real Madrid 3 – 0 Manchester City

Thibaut Courtois: 9
Made four saves and commanded his area well, especially on City’s corners. Produced one miracle stop in the second half and even launched a fantastic assist to Fede Valverde.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: 6.5
Struggled with his delivery and looked shaky in 1v1 defending. Not his best performance at either end of the pitch.

Antonio Rüdiger: 8
Erling Haaland was nowhere to be found, largely thanks to Rüdiger, who kept him quiet entire.

Dean Huijsen: 8.5
One of his best performances in the season. He led the game in clearances, and his vertical passing and composedness under pressure were key.

Ferland Mendy: 9
Vintage Mendy. He completely locked down Semenyo and looked like the version Madrid fans have seen in big European nights before.

Aurélien Tchouameni: 8
A midfield enforcer. Won huge challenges all game and offered outstanding protection in front of the backline.

Thiago Pitarch: 7
Aside from one nearly catastrophic mistake in the second half, he looked impressively composed in such a high-stakes match. He left the field to a thunderous ovation from the Bernabéu.

Fede Valverde: 10
Unbelievable. Unstoppable. A hat-trick, and every goal was spectacular. He also finished with the most tackles on the pitch, pressed relentlessly, and gave Trent continuous help against Doku. Probably the best game of his Real Madrid career.

Arda Güler: 7
Played some terrific passes under pressure, including a brilliant right-footed ball through City’s defensive line that led to Vinicius’s penalty. Defensively, though, he struggled at times.

For more such information, connect with us today: : www.globalmediaa.com