Real Madrid cuts open Man City out of the UEFA Champions
Real Madrid French striker, Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick against Manchester City in the EUFA Champions second leg of round 32. Image : Real Madrid shared via X
(The Post News)- In the second leg of the EUFA Champions League, Kylian Mbappe defeated Manchester City with a scorching hat-trick on Wednesday night at Santiago Bernabeu. Los Blancos advances to the round of 16 with a 6-3 triumph after a 3-1 victory.
Before Nico Gonzalez tapped home in stoppage time, Pep Guardiola’s team, missing star attacker Erling Haaland, had a terrible early exit without laying a touch on the utterly overpowering 15-time record winners in the Spanish capital. The English team was cut open as French sensation Mbappe combined with his offensive colleagues to score a fine second goal and break the tie with a lob in the fourth minute.
With a low effort from the edge of the box in the second half, the striker, who had a rough start to life at Real Madrid, completed his treble and reached seven goals in the tournament this season in ten games. As has been the case for a large portion of their campaign, City, the 2023 champions, were far from their best.
Guardiola had terrible news prior to the match when Haaland, who scored twice in the first leg, was benched following a knock he sustained during the weekend against Newcastle. Real Madrid, on the other hand, welcomed Antonio Rudiger back from injury, and he moved into defense with ease. Aurelien Tchouameni was put back in his usual midfield position.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team gained the lead early on and played nearly faultless in the first half. Young center-back Raul Asencio put him in with a long pass, and Mbappe lofted the ball over City goalkeeper Ederson after shrugging off Ruben Dias.
A few minutes later, John Stones hobbled off for the visitors, dealing the Premier League winners yet another setback. Ederson stopped from Mbappe after Tchouameni sent him racing in on goal with another pass over the top, and Fede Valverde had an effort deflected just wide.
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