madrid– federico valverde Scored a brilliant hat-trick in the first half real Madrid speechless Manchester City By win 3-0 in their uefa champions league Round-of-16 first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The Uruguayan midfielder scored three times in 22 minutes to give Alvaro Arbeloa a stunning win over his tenure as Madrid head coach and set the Spanish giants on course to reach the last eight ahead of next week’s second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
It would have been even better for Arbeloa, Appointed as replacement for Xabi Alonso in Januarydidn’t he see Vinicius Junior He missed the chance to score a fourth when his penalty was saved in the second half Gianluigi Donnarumma.
City had opportunities to get back into the tie Thibaut Courtois drew a point-blank response other than denial Nico O’Reilly.
In the absence of key players including kilian mbappe, Jude Bellingham And rodrigoCourtois played his part, but it was Valverde who proved the difference between the two teams.
His first goal – against the clock – came courtesy of a long ball forward from Courtois, his second courtesy of a superb finish from the left side of the penalty area and his third after a world-class touch to turn the ball. Mark Guehi Which turned into another famous Champions League night for Real Madrid. — rob dawson
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Valverde has done his best impression on Mbappe
Without Mbappé and without Bellingham – both injured – Madrid needed someone to step up and deliver a star performance against City. And, to be more precise, someone will put the ball into the back of the net.
Prematch, the most likely candidate seemed to be Vinicius, who had been Madrid’s most consistent goal threat in the Champions League knockout stage over the past five years. Vinicius did everything right, won and failed to convert a penalty in the second half. But he was not the star of the show.
Move over, Valverde, scorer, before tonight, of only three Champions League goals in his entire career. It is now six o’clock. What Valverde did in the first half was remarkable, scoring three goals that would have made any player – including Mbappe or any other elite forward – happy.
The former displayed his energy, with the help of Courtois’ long punt upfield, to beat O’Reilly to the ball and keep his cool to beat Donnarumma. The second, inexplicably, found him in the center forward position, making a clever run, and finishing well. And the third was the pick of the group, with a brilliant touch to lift the ball over Guéhi, completing a hat trick.
Valverde has had a strange season. Earlier in the campaign, he had been used as an emergency by then-coach Alonso, and publicly expressed his unhappiness in the role, even drawing criticism for appearing reluctant to warm up properly in games. carat almaty.
He was one of the senior players ESPN reported he was not impressed with Alonso’s managementAnd in January there were some whistles from the Bernabeu crowd as fans expressed their disapproval at the coach’s dismissal.
Arbeloa, however, has been consistently complimentary of Valverde, last week calling him “everything” a Real Madrid player should be. Scored the winner in the 94th minute But Celta VigoAnd he was returned to his preferred central midfield position.
And now this. Against City, Arbeloa used Valverde as a marauding right winger, a role he had enjoyed much success in this competition under former Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, and was rewarded with one of the performances of the season.
“I always try to adopt the coach’s ideas,” Valverde said on Tuesday. “I have played in many positions, not always in midfield, but I try to contribute to give my best.” Here, he delivers that and more. –Alex Kirkland
The city’s decisive phase began with a nightmare
Pep Guardiola always says the most important game is the next one, but there’s no denying the fact that the next month will define City’s campaign.
Two matches against Real Madrid, two matches left armory — one of Carabao Cup in the last and one Premier League — and one more fa cup quarter final against liverpool This will decide how successful they are this season. This is a period of challenging matches which has now started for the worst.
City arrived in Madrid having performed poorly against a Real Madrid team suffering from poor form and a shortage of key players. They go away like people licking their wounds. Guardiola will have to choose his players quickly, starting the trip west ham united on Saturday, or their season could unravel very quickly.
That would leave them with a few more points in the league, a disappointing performance against Real Madrid at the Etihad next week and defeat to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, leaving little to play for after the international break.
At the moment, they are still fighting for four trophies, but a potential quadruple is hanging by a thread. –Dawson
Where does this leave Arbeloa and Madrid?
A few days before the game, a source told ESPN that Arbeloa would need “a miracle” to remain in charge of Madrid next season. Either that, or winning the Champions League, considering how Madrid have played most of the time this season, would be the same thing.
They haven’t won the Champions League yet, but this was unquestionably the greatest result ever and the defining performance of the brief Arbeloa era, and the first game he can point to as proof of progress, of building a team with a coherent idea behind it.
Alonso’s Madrid were beaten 2-1 by City here in December, and – although they were not overwhelmed – Guardiola’s side were outclassed. But on Wednesday, after a slow opening 20 minutes, they were by far the better side, even if City were disappointing. Arbeloa would say, this is how his Madrid side have to play: with aggression and intensity, going direct when necessary, with homegrown youth playing key roles.
Thiago PitarkThe 18-year-old, on his first Champions League start, impressed for 76 minutes on the field until he gave the ball away in a dangerous area, forcing Courtois to make a trademark stunning save. But when he was replaced, it was still by another youth product, a 21-year-old manuel angel. And Madrid players immediately showed their support for Pitarch after that error. Arbeloa knows the academy, and he has shown that his praise of Madrid’s talent production line is not just talk.
Despite all their struggles this season, Madrid remain in second place LaLigaFour points off the top, and have now put themselves in a really strong position to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, where they will almost certainly face Bayern Munich.
Is Madrid likely to eliminate Bayern? All evidence from this season suggests the answer is no. And in LaLiga, they also have some season-defining games coming up, like with the derby Atletico Madrid On 22 March. But finally, after an inconsistent two months, Arbeloa has a solid, high-profile win against a top-level opponent, giving his players and fans something to believe in. –Kirkland
Guardiola’s “surprising” team fails to pay up
Arbeloa said he expected a surprise from Guardiola and he was right. Many traveling City fans would not have predicted its debut Abdukodir Khusanov, jeremy doku And Savinho – especially when all three started out on a heavy team newcastle united On Saturday.
It didn’t work. Semenyo and Savinho were largely anonymous in the first half as Valverde ran riot, and it was no surprise when Guardiola turned things around at halftime. Sacrifices were made for Savinho Tijani Renders And Semenyo was moved to left back – where he was expected to start in the starting position.
City’s problems were not all limited to Guardiola’s team selection. They were largely in control for the first 20 minutes before the long draw. Courtois caught O’Reilly out on the halfway line, giving Valverde the chance to score his first.
It was another long ball early in the second half that led to Vini Junior being brought down by Donnarumma for a penalty for Real Madrid, before the Italian compensated by saving the penalty kick. Defensively it was that kind of night for City. — dawson
