Federico Valverde was the Real Madrid hero who wrote himself into this storied club’s folklore with a first-half, 22-minute hat-trick that decimated Manchester City and cast Pep Guardiola as a tactical novice.
Each of Valverde’s goals were a diagram of his supreme skill and City’s chump-like defending that leaves their hopes of a quarter-final berth near extinct. If Vinícius Júnior had netted a second-half penalty Real could all but celebrate progression yet if City score early in Tuesday’s return who knows.
Guardiola promised “no surprises” tactically yet spurned a golden chance here. Real missed the injured Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Álvaro Carreras and Éder Militão, so Álvaro Arbeloa’s resources were stretched.
Factor in how the absent Mbappé’s 13 strikes led the competition, and the seven-goal Erling Haaland was back after not playing in Saturday’s FA Cup win at Newcastle, and the record 15-times winners could be billed as underdogs. By the end this felt fanciful and so Guardiola’s mission is to revitalise a group who fly home severely bruised at the defining phase of the campaign.
Real’s pre-kickoff entertainment roused the senses. It featured a reel of Champions League final goals – including Gareth Bale’s showstopping overhead kick, plus a volume-shattering play of the new anthem with a lyric, “historia por hacer” (more history to be made). Arbeloa’s men embodied in an opening half that tore City apart.
After Brahim Díaz forced a point-blank Gianluigi Donnarumma save, the forward got to his feet and urged the Madridistas to roar, which they did. Previous to this Real were composed in defence when Haaland charged into their area: Trent Alexander-Arnold outmuscled the giant No 9, dummied and coolly ran away from danger, again to a massive cheer.
Guardiola’s configuration was the 4-2-2-2 of recent games that featured three wingers in Jérémy Doku, Savinho and Antoine Semenyo, the last of who partnered Haaland up top.
It was ultra-attacking with Alexander-Arnold’s right-back flank targeted and for a while it worked. Doku and Nico O’Reilly each threatened from City’s left, bouncing crosses before Thibaut Courtois that begged to be finished. From one Doku effort, a corner was claimed. A training ground drill ensued as Bernardo Silva fired the ball in low for Semenyo but, free in space, he slipped and the ball smacked his head.
Now came the opening salvo of joy for Real and Valverde, and disaster for City, specifically O’Reilly. Courtois launched a diagonal downfield to the captain who was on the right. He took the ball on the full, dodged O’Reilly, who should have at least felled him, and ran for goal. Donnarumma charged out but the No 8 slipped the ball one side, ran the other way and, from a narrow angle, bulged the net.
City, made to appear mugs, were victims of Guardiola’s gung-ho selection which was pace heavy and missing the extra guile of Phil Foden or Rayan Cherki. They paid dearly again due to more hapless defending. This time Vinícius Júnior drove along the left, scattering City. The Brazilian’s pass hit a turning Rúben Dias on the boot, diverting the ball to Valverde who, after a look, lashed beyond Donnarumma into the far corner, this time with his left foot.
The spectacle was end-to-end, rather than the Rodri-led controlled stuff that is Guardiola tenet. After the half-hour mark, the Spaniard began to pass and move forcing Real into a brief passage of chase-ball, but next came Valverde’s hat-trick finish.
Abdukodir Khusanov, in for Matheus Nunes at right-back, was the City defender who this time fell asleep, allowing Vinícius to race down the left. When the ball eventually went right Díaz’s chip was lunged at by Marc Guéhi – except, Valverde was quicker, lofting the ball over him and running on and volleying home to leave City 3-0 behind at the break.
For the second half Fran García replaced Ferland Mendy at left-back for Real and Guardiola hauled off Savinho for the midfielder Tijjani Reijnders: evidence of the error of his original selection.
Yet moments into the restart Díaz ripped through City and shot, Donnarumma saved, and while Dias blocked Vinícius’s follow-up, Real sucker-punched their guest again.
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At a Silva corner the ball fell to Alexander-Arnold, whose raking pass was chased by Vinícius. The speedster was caught by Khusanov in City’s area but, swerving left, Donnarumma caught him. Maurizio Mariani awarded a penalty and the Italian was booked. Now a lifeline as Real’s playmaker hit the kick right and Donnarumma saved. Four-nil and it was surely tie over as Vinícius knew: a dribble and shot seconds after his miss nearly making amends.
Real wanted a second spot-kick when Dias’s challenge toppled Díaz but the centre-back took the ball.
Courtois, largely unworked, saved from O’Reilly but City were impotent and so a Real clean sheet felt as apt as the 3-0 win was so dominant.