Real Madrid made the most shocking and dominant performance as the defeat Manchester city 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in the champions league round of 16 first leg.
It was a pure ruthless and breathtaking encounter despite the absence of several key players for the Spanish team. The Premier league side was considered big favorites against Real Madrid who were at their fragile state.
The match began with high intensity, creating more offensive pressure on the home team. man city looked very dangerous in the early minutes of the game most especially Jeremy Doku who was a nightmare on the right flank as he beats him man repeatedly.
Man City dominated the match for at least 20 minutes, but football has its own moments; the home team managed to break through the dominant and tight grip to score the opener in the 20th minute.
Fede Valverde rounded the rushing Gianluigi Donnarumma before tapping the ball into an empty net, the Bernabeu exploded with the sound and echoes of celebration from the home fans. One goal, one touch, one run, one goal, and everything was starting to turn into a Real Madrid night.
Valverde has been in form, going from his late winner goal against Getafe on Friday, but the world is not ready for what he was about to do next. With just seven minutes after his first goal, the Uruguayan defender struck again, two goals in seven minutes, and the mighty Manchester City are already trembling to a team that is suffering from injury.
The spectacular moment came just before the break when Brahim Diaz clipped a perfect ball over Manchester City’s defense and landed right in front of the man who had already scored two goals and was hungrily seeking his third. The ball landed in his right foot as she charged towards the penalty area to move past Marc Guehi and hammered it past Donnarumma.
The Bernabeu rose again as one as players and fans both celebrated the man who has just made history for himself in the UEFA Champions League. The 3-0 lead for Real Madrid made it the first hat trick for Valverde as a professional player in his career. Despite scoring important goals in finals, semi-finals, and also in big games the club has ever faced, he has never scored three goals in a single game until now.
The story of the game cannot be told without understanding the rivalry surrounding it. Real Madrid and Manchester City have been squared in the knockout stage, quarter-final, and semi-final of the game in the last four seasons, with Real Madrid knocking them out of the competition in the last two.
Real Madrid may be without their most expensive player, Kylian Mbappé, but they still managed to dismantle one of the best teams in the world at the halfway point of a Champions League knockout tie. Three goals in forty-two minutes, a hat trick that no one saw coming.
Manchester City are left with a mountain to climb when they welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad on the 17th of March for the second leg of the game. Pep’s team needs to find something special in order to make the game a historic one for the club and also for the world of football in general.
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