When Real Madrid Meet Manchester City, Something Special Always Happens

What is it about this fixture that always seems to produce something special?

It was Federico Valverde who became the hero in this latest instalment of Real Madrid vs Manchester City — the 12th such meeting in the 2020s — with the Uruguayan scoring the first hat-trick of his career and one of the best-ever in the Champions League to put Alvaro Arbeloa’s team in full control of the last-16 tie at the Bernabeu.

Valverde put Madrid ahead in the 20th minute, sprinting onto a long ball from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, beating Nico O’Reilly to the knockdown and pushing it past Gianluigi Donnarumma before finishing from an angle. Courtois’ assist was his second of the season in the Champions League – meaning he now has more than Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo for Madrid this season.

Valverde’s second came seven minutes later, as he got on the end of a deflected Vinicius Junior pass and finished low with his left boot past Donnarumma. The third in the 42nd minute was the pick of the night, with Brahim Diaz providing a delightful dinked pass for Madrid’s captain, who lifted the ball over Marc Guehi and slotted home.

Madrid had a chance to make it 4-0 when Vinicius Jr was felled by Donnarumma, but the Brazilian’s penalty was saved. Courtois was forced into a fine save from point-blank range from O’Reilly after 18-year-old Thiago Pitarch lost possession inside the area in the 75th minute.

Breaking Down One of the All-Time Great Champions League Hat-Tricks

The opening quarter-hour was fast and frantic, but City looked the more threatening team and appeared to be taking control. Then Valverde produced one of the all-time great Champions League hat-tricks.

There did not seem much danger when Courtois sent a long ball forward towards Valverde out on the right wing. But O’Reilly misjudged the flight of the ball, and the Uruguay international’s perfect first touch sent him sprinting clear.

City keeper Donnarumma got his angles wrong — on TNT Sports’ coverage, the pundits wondered if he could have simply put a hand out to stop the ball. Valverde showed tremendous athleticism and technical quality to get to the ball first and guided it into the net.

The goal completely changed the mood in the stadium, with confidence surging through Madrid’s players and fans, and a feeling of deja vu for City — who have suffered plenty of similar sucker punches against Madrid in this competition in recent years.

Goal No 2: Left-Foot Brilliance

After Brahim and Vinicius Jr led a counter-attack, Valverde drove onto a deflected pass from the Brazilian and surged into the City box. Few would have expected him to shoot so quickly on his left foot — which is usually just for standing on, as Donnarumma would have known. But the shot was sweetly struck and nestled in the far corner to make it 2-0.

Goal No 3: Maradona-esque Touch

Goal No 3 was even more unexpected. Brahim’s chip into his path was well measured, but there was still so much to do. Full of belief, the Uruguayan produced a first touch to lift the ball over Guehi that was reminiscent of Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi, and then powered home the finish, without even letting the ball hit the ground.

Watching in the stands, the injured Jude Bellingham looked genuinely gobsmacked at that third effort from his team-mate.

The Defensive Shift

Remarkably, Valverde also put in a major defensive shift, helping right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold against City winger Jeremy Doku, and shepherding 18-year-old Thiago Pitarch alongside him in midfield.

Part of the explanation was that Valverde — who struggled earlier this season to understand what previous coach Xabi Alonso wanted from him — has looked much freer and more confident under Arbeloa, who gives his players fewer detailed tactical demands.

It was an incredible moment — and one you could only really explain within the context of a Champions League night at the Bernabeu, where anything seems possible for the men in white.

Did Guardiola’s Selection Backfire?

You could look at Guardiola’s starting line-up in two ways.

The first is that you could see the logic in just about all of the selections. City played well at Newcastle with a back three. Picking Abdukodir Khusanov at right-back allowed City to have that back three and kept a fast, defensively astute defender on hand to battle Vinicius Jr.

Savinho’s selection was explained by his bright showing at St James’ Park. Jeremy Doku has been one of City’s best players this season and was their most threatening in the Spanish capital. But picking Antoine Semenyo for his Champions League debut, considering he was a striker alongside Erling Haaland, was a head-scratcher, particularly as it robbed City of a third man in midfield.

This was an attacking team that could have really damaged Madrid, and that is how the first 15 minutes seemed to play out.

But Guardiola ripped up the formula almost completely. City have been using a box midfield with O’Reilly, Bernardo Silva and Rodri of late — a formidable trio — but here O’Reilly was shifted to left-back and the other two were left without help.

Matheus Nunes has always been picked when fit but was suddenly out. Despite Savinho being there to wreak havoc as he did against Newcastle, the Brazilian was rarely given the ball. When he was, he did not do much.

The energy evident from City early on was immediately stopped by Valverde’s first goal, and the direct threat posed by all those forwards became stunted, with City looking a pale version of themselves.

How Important Was This for Arbeloa?

This was a huge night for Arbeloa, by far his biggest and best since he took over from Alonso in January.

The former Madrid, Liverpool and Spain right-back came into this game under real pressure, with many around the Bernabeu already assuming the rookie manager was not going to last long, and a real fear of potential embarrassment against a City team coached by one of the all-time greats (and a Barcelona icon) in Guardiola.

Should Madrid Have Punished City More?

There comes a point at which football as a whole really has to stop writing off Real Madrid in the Champions League. Manchester City were odds-on favourites before kick-off. Madrid’s teamsheet made that look broadly reasonable; the recent form guide did likewise.

Reason, though, does not come into it when Madrid play in this competition. It’s all magic dust, dark matter. And you know what they love? Being written off.

City know this as well as anyone. They’ve been sucker-punched before. So even as they started well, Jeremy Doku fizzing dangerous crosses into the six-yard box, the muscle memory must have been humming. And yes, then it all turned, just like it always does.

In the end, 3-0 was both a let-off and a let-down. Vinicius Jr could have put the tie beyond City’s reach from the penalty spot. At the same time, only stunning, last-gasp interventions from Antonio Rudiger and Thibaut Courtois maintained Madrid’s clean sheet in a slightly drifty second half.

Did City deserve a goal? Not really. If they are still in this tie, it is by their fingernails. They have to conjure something seriously special back in Manchester — and hope that Madrid’s arcane spell over Champions League has a vanishingly rare night off.

What Did Guardiola Say?

Pep Guardiola speaking to TNT Sport: “I had the feeling that it was a good game. It was not the game that the result dictates. Of course Madrid have the ability and quality every time you lose the ball in transition because they keep the ball and they run.

“It is what it is. I have the feeling that it was better than the result but the result is here and we have one week and at the Etihad we will see.”

“They defended so compact and with solidarity. They have 11 players there defending so in the transitions it is always there.”

Read More: How Federico Valverde Solved Madrid’s Defensive Problem and Then Scored a Hat-Trick

FAQs