Five Things Learned: Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City (Agg: 6-3) (UEFA Champions League Last-16 Play-Off Second-Leg) | OneFootball

Real Madrid stormed past Manchester City, winning 3-1 on the night and 6-3 on aggregate to expel the English outfit from this season’s UEFA Champions League.

After coming from behind to win the first leg 2-3, Los Blancos had a cruel show lined up for City at Santiago Bernabeu. The Blues had a miserable start and no time to recover as Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick helped his side cruise into the Champions League’s Round of 16.

The visitors were only settling into the game when Mbappe received the ball from a long pass over the City defence. Captain Ruben Dias failed to collect the ball and the Frenchman calmly lifted it over Ederson to deal an early blow, catching the Brazilian far off his line.

Relentless in attack, Real Madrid arranged a precise play from the right and behind the City defence again for Mbappe to capitalise. The Frenchman toyed with the ball until assured and rushed for his brace, dodging past Gvardiol and driving it past Ederson with a low effort.

The hosts created a three-goal advantage on aggregate by the time the first-half ended. They returned to further toy with City, who had now spent almost an hour running aimlessly. The Blues were shockingly oblivious to Madrid’s history of destroying opponents.

Dias, who had made a mistake earlier in the game, prevented Federico Valverde’s cross from reaching Antonio Rudiger, who had an open shot at the goal at the far post, and moments later, Ederson denied Valverde from a close range.

They would not have a chance to revel in their saves however, as Mbappe would soon drive the knife deeper into City’s wounds. A simple step-over saw him conveniently collect the ball from Phil Foden on the edge of the box and direct it into the back of the net to register a hat-trick.

While City defenders were suffocating, Pep Guardiola saw his proven attackers struggle to piece together a single threat. The Blues would eventually find a consolation goal through Nico Gonzalez, met with a deafening silence that perfectly summed up the visitors’ night.

City’s limited attempts at creating anything that could have troubled their opponents did not come until the game’s final 15 minutes. But it was too little too late, and it drew their poor UEFA Champions League campaign to a deservedly horrid conclusion.

The Blues will be back in action this weekend for a massive match against Liverpool, with hopes of fighting to keep their spot in the Premier League’s top-four. But before that, here are Five Things We Learned from City’s defeat to Real Madrid!

Spineless start, and not enough remorse

While plenty of tactical and individual errors scripted Manchester City’s inevitable loss, their attitude was arguably their most significant flaw in the defeat.

It would never be easy to win at Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League, especially a goal behind. But having encountered Los Blancos in the competition three years in a row, Guardiola’s team should have known better than throwing the game from the first minute.

Ruben Dias’ misjudging of the ball gave Kylian Mbappe the opening he needed, but the City captain recovered and tried his best to make up for the errors. Unfortunately, the sentiment didn’t reach many players who started the game.

Away fans showed more heart and soul in cheering the team as they undertook an impossible task. The Blues were punished for a spineless showcase at the Etihad Stadium less than a week ago, and they walked onto a big stage with no intention of recovering from the past mistake.

Another injury blow

The first seven minutes pushed Manchester City down a cathartic hole, and spent an entire evening trying to crawl out. Just as the City boss had started to get comfortable with his injured players making it back, the team was struck with another – this time to John Stones.

Having started on the back foot, defenders were desperate to play out the back and avoid danger. Unfortunately, Stones pulled a muscle while playing a pass and immediately went to the ground, seeking medical attention.

The Englishman’s injury now means he will miss the match against Liverpool and potentially more as details of his injury are further revealed. This is the second set-back for City’s defensive line after Manuel Akanji’s injury earlier this month, who was subject to surgery.

City lay down the red carpet for Kylian Mbappe

Of everything that went wrong for the soon-to-be former English champions, their willingness to let Kylian Mbappe run rampant remains at the top of their self-inflicted woes from Wednesday night.

The French striker pounced on the first opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet after scoring a lucky goal in the first-leg. He had a point to prove, and Manchester City left him with acres of space to exploit for his hat trick.

The visitors were torn apart by Madrid’s front four. If the first wasn’t enough, City quickly learned a lesson through Mbappe’s second; a well-rehearsed move from the right saw Rodrygo put the ball in his path, tricking Gvardiol, and scoring his second against a helpless Ederson.

One would assume City players would do more to defend against a player of Mbappe’s reputation, especially considering his form since the turn of the year. However, they displayed no intention to prevent a hat-trick despite being forced into making tackles and saves.

It would be an understatement to say the third goal from Mbappe was embarrassing to concede. A second viewing of the game would show almost every City defender pointing in his direction when he won the ball after beating Phil Foden on the edge of the box.

Yet, none moved to cover the space to force a pass from Mbappe. In response, the Manchester City forwards couldn’t compose a compelling play until the 70th minute mark, adding to the misery.

Abdukodir Khusanov impresses

City’s display against Real Madrid was far from their standard. But if one thing could be seen as a positive, it is Abdukodir Khusanov’s praise-worthy performance against Vinicius Jr in an unnatural right-back role.

Fuelled by the infamous Ballon d’Or snub, the Real Madrid forward was Man of the Match when the two teams locked horns in the first-leg. But Khusanov held him at bay at Santiago Bernabeu despite playing out of position.

Having lost a few duels, the Uzbek defender recovered repeatedly to curb Vinicius’ threatening runs, playing a huge role in cutting him off from Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham to prevent further humiliation.

Big calls in the summer are unavoidable

Pep Guardiola’s refusal to bring Kevin De Bruyne on as a substitute was puzzling. Perhaps he didn’t want to risk adding injuries for both the Belgian, or Erling Haaland, in an already-lost tie, or he wanted those already on the pitch to clear their mess.

That said, many of those who started did not look keen on fighting, as was evident from body language. Between senior players strolling during build-up and reputed forwards flinging arms in disappointment, the loss almost confirmed the necessary exit of big names in the summer.

These notably included Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, and perhaps surprisingly, Phil Foden – who, unlike the other two, is not fighting against age. Several of these players have played a crucial role in helping Manchester City script recent history.

It is also true that they have had to bear the brunt of overly demanding tasks across roles as the side battles a season-long injury crisis. That said, the biggest disappointment from the Blues’ latest outing showed that not all are playing for the badge.

The Manchester City faithful would expect better from the team in the coming matches, but no amount of gratitude in their hearts would blind them against a desperate need for a complete rebuild once the season ends.