Real Madrid is in the last 16 of the Champions League after a total victory of 6-3 on Manchester City in the Play-off round.
Madrid did the hard work at the Etihad stadium a week earlier, from behind to claim a 3-2 victory in Manchester, before putting the icing on the metaphorical cake back home at the Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick was the difference in a unilateral night, shooting in Madrid ahead. He added a second during the first half, completing his triple with just over an hour played.
For Manchester City, which marked a late consolation until January of signing Nico Gonzalez, they are outside the Champions League before the last 16 for the first time since they did not escape the return group stage in 2012/13.
As the game was deployed
Manchester City began immediately taking control of the ball, looking for the goal that would level the general line. But before they could even start creating, the aggregate deficit was suddenly bigger when a long passage over the center centers handed a breakthrough to Mbapping.
There was still work to be done by the French, but he maintained his composition to lift the bounce ball up and on Ederson, at the back of the net.
The two -goal buffer gave Madrid a huge confidence and it was as if they were playing with the city, playing with a freedom that caused an attack after the attack. A flight of corners represented a huge threat, with the visitors ultimately chasing the shadows.
With half an hour played, Mbappe played again behind the defense of the city, triggering a strike of the ball towards which Ederson was the same this time. This was a sign of warning, because it soon had a second, extending the total leadership to three goals.
It was a forceful movement that began to the right of Madrid with Jude Bellingham, and took Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo for a good measure, the latter threw the ball on the way to Mbapppe. He turned to sit on Josko Gvardiol at his back, before shooting down in front of Ederson’s helplessness.
Madrid started the second half at the top, and Rodrygo fired from the inside of the penalty area after the possibility was designed by Federico Valverde. Ederson got his body behind another threatening effort of Rodrygo, while Ruben Diats had to be in the right place at the right time to cut an impressive Valverde cross for Antonio Rudiger at the end.
When MBAPPE fulfilled another Valverde installment, Ederson was in hand to save on near quarterfinals.
The Madrid night hero did not have to wait much to complete his hat-trick, easily beat Phil Foden with a step on the edge of the box and bend a left foot finish measured in the lower corner. City fans would not have been happy with the lack of intensity defending it.
City met a bit in the last quarter of the game, with Foden that hit Thibaut Courtois palms in the first real contribution of the Belgian goalkeeper. In the midst of a series of substitutions from both coaches, who finally paved the way for Gonzalez to score their first goal in the Champions League, and won the rebound when the free launch of Omar Marmoush returned to the Crossing.
Check the evaluations of the player of the Real Madrid vs Man City here.
Tonight he encapsulated why Real Madrid pursued Kylian Mbappe for so long.
It was a slow start after its seismic arrival in July, which can be excused, as it was expected to reach the ground in a new club in a new country, at the back of an international tournament and a minimum rest. Summer.
But MBAPPE has been almost reproducible in 2025 and this was its stage.
The best players in the world increase when it counts and did so and then some. Four minutes and took the first opportunity of the game to effectively kill the tie there and then. His second goal of the evening was the quality of pure world class, able to take this second division to see the full image in the head and the shameful Josko Gvardiol.
With the confidence that was through the veins, Hat-Trick’s strike became so easy. But it is so simple that it can be when the most important players are in good shape.
On Mbapping won the tie for Madrid, Erling Haaland was only among Manchester City SUMS.
A few days after capturing the city to a beautiful victory over Newcastle United, after starting the 34 games of the Premier League and the Champions League, one hand meant that the Norwegian was not considered sufficiently appropriate to start later to re -join -Tuesday’s training.
We apologize for the fist, but the city did not have the stones.
The City lost the center of the absence of the ten -minute opening.
His retreat really seemed to hit the rest of the team, with Madrid turning the snail and the city barely capable of putting a glove on a rival that they had once went on foot so many times.
More worrying is still that Sunday, the leaders of the Premier League are hosting the Premier League, needing points due to the proximity of Bournemouth and the Chelsea behind the race for the Champions League qualification.
Carlo Ancelotti foreseen ahead of the first stage That the winner of this draw will continue to lift the Champions League trophy in Munich in late May.
This has already been true in each of the last three seasons.
This was an earlier meeting that in previous years, so there is still much more football to play than if it had been a quarter or a semifinals meeting, as in the past. But the European champions 15 times will surely be safe now that they have eliminated one of their best rivals.
And those other sides that have seen that the resolution of Madrid return to the first stage and their work of demolition in the second stage have reason to be intimidated.
