March 12, (THEWILL) — Real Madrid took firm control of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie with a 3-0 victory over Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu, Federico Valverde scoring all three goals inside the opening 42 minutes to leave Pep Guardiola’s side facing a heavy deficit ahead of the return fixture.
City dominated the early stages but were undone against the run of play when a long clearance from Thibaut Courtois caught Nico O’Reilly out of position. Valverde collected the loose ball, went around Gianluigi Donnarumma and side-footed home to give Madrid an undeserved lead.
The Uruguayan midfielder extended the advantage seven minutes later, directing a deflected pass from Vinicius Junior into the net with his left foot. He completed his hat-trick shortly before the interval, latching onto a delicate chip by former City midfielder Brahim Diaz, nudging the ball over Marc Guehi and volleying home at close range.
A foul by Donnarumma on Vinicius inside the penalty area early in the second half offered Madrid the prospect of a fourth, but the Brazilian sent his spot-kick straight at the Italian goalkeeper.
Courtois made amends for the error that gifted City’s opener and also covered for a mistake by teenage full-back Thiago Pitarch, who became the youngest Spanish player to start for the club in a Champions League knockout fixture. City must now overturn a three-goal deficit if they are to reach the quarter-finals.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
