Manchester City’s Champions League aspirations were dashed for another year following a disastrous evening at the Bernabeu. Pep Guardiola selected an offensive line-up to challenge Real Madrid, but they were instead undone by a hat-trick from Fede Valverde in a remarkable first half.
Gianluigi Donnarumma conceded a penalty in the second half that could have sealed City’s fate, but the goalkeeper managed to recover and save Vinicius’s penalty kick. This provides City with a sliver of hope for the second leg, although they failed to capitalise on this by scoring any goals in Madrid.
A superb reflex save from Thibaut Courtois denied Nico O’Reilly a certain goal, leaving City with no further contributions. Here are the player ratings from a chastening night in Madrid.
Donnarumma: Could perhaps have performed better on at least one of the goals and conceded the penalty, but made a crucial save to keep City in the game. 5.
Khusanov: Started strongly against Vinicius but lost his footing and was unable to regain control of the match. 5.
Dias: Struggled to maintain order at the back, though he did attempt to drive them forward in the second half. 5.
Guehi: Arguably his most challenging night in a City jersey, struggled to maintain his performance and was outplayed by Valverde for a goal. 5.
O’Reilly: Left vulnerable for the initial goal and had defensive difficulties throughout the match. Showed improvement in midfield but was far from his peak. 4.
Rodri: A return to Madrid that he won’t look back on with fondness as he failed to prevent Real from circumventing City’s midfield. 5.
Silva: Fell short on set-pieces and corners and couldn’t get involved in the game. 5.
Semenyo: Eager to engage with the ball and attempted to create opportunities in the final third, although his touch was inconsistent. 5.
Savinho: Didn’t make many mistakes and earned a few free-kicks in threatening positions but was substituted due to tactical changes at half-time. 5.
Doku: Seemed poised to give Alexander-Arnold a tough time but was effectively marked out of the match and made some poor choices in the final third. 5.
Haaland: Failed to contribute significantly, and his early substitution speaks volumes. 4.
Reijnders: (for Savinho, 46) Unable to impact the game. 5.
Cherki: (for Semenyo, 70) Attempted to instigate action. 6.
Ait-Nouri: (for Silva, 70) Mixed performance. Received a yellow card. 5.
Marmoush: (for Haaland, 82) Insufficient time.
Unused substitutes: Trafford, Bettinelli, Nunes, Alleyne, Ake, Stones, Gonzalez, Foden.