Manchester City were dumped out of the Champions League after a display of world-class finishing from Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe scored a brilliant hat-trick to power the holders to a 3-1 victory in the second leg of their play-off tie against City on Wednesday and an overall 6-3 aggregate success.
Without the injured Erling Haaland, City laboured under the closed roof at the magnificently remodelled Bernabeu Stadium and barely troubled the Mbappe-inspired hosts.
Nico Gonzalez did pull one back in added time after an Omar Marmoush free-kick hit the bar but the contest was long since over with the night belonging to Mbappe.
THE MAN OF THE MATCH. pic.twitter.com/Eg4o5Zpx25
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) February 19, 2025
The French World Cup-winner was at his ruthless best, striking in the fourth minute and adding two more either side of the break, as City’s lacklustre challenge in Europe’s elite competition came to a tame end.
It was their earliest exit since failing to progress from the group stage in 2012-13 and was another blow in what has been an underwhelming season.
From Real’s point of view, it was a strong warning to rest of Europe that, after their own sluggish start and some recent domestic wobbles, they remain strong contenders to win a record-extending 16th title.
City’s night began dreadfully as top scorer Haaland failed to even make the starting line-up.
Despite manager Pep Guardiola’s suggestions to the contrary, the Norwegian was clearly still bothered by the knee problem that forced him off in the closing stages of Saturday’s defeat of Newcastle.
With Haaland on the bench alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish, City entrusted Marmoush, fresh from his hat-trick against Newcastle, with the chief task of scoring the goals to turn the tie around.
Yet the assignment instantly got tougher as Federico Valverde launched a long ball upfield and Mbappe capitalised on a Ruben Dias stumble to lob Ederson as the ball bounced kindly for him outside the area.
To compound City’s woes, John Stones was forced off injured moments later and had to be replaced by Nathan Ake.
Real sensed an opportunity to put the tie beyond doubt and, after targeting makeshift right-back Abdukodir Khusanov, created a number of chances.
Jude Bellingham headed wide before Mbappe and Valverde both went close with further efforts.
Mbappe had another shot parried by Ederson and then doubled the lead after a sublime piece of skill on 33 minutes.
It came after a fluid move featuring all four of Real’s feared attacking quartet. Bellingham fed Vinicius Junior, who turned the ball inside for Rodrygo to slip in Mbappe.
The Frenchman still had plenty to do but an exquisite touch took out two defenders, including a completely wrong-footed Josko Gvardiol, and left him to plant a shot inside the near post.
With a three-goal aggregate advantage, the pace dropped and Real almost began to toy with City.
Rodrygo and Mbappe both had shots saved by Ederson before the striker rifled in his third from distance just after the hour following a flurry of step-overs.
Mbappe was not quite finished there and set up a chance for Vinicius with a blistering run. The Brazilian’s shot was blocked and Mbappe was withdrawn to a huge ovation 12 minutes from time.
Having had little to enthuse them all night, the City fans broke out into ironic cheers when substitute Mateo Kovacic had a shot late on.
Yet the visitors did manage to get on the scoresheet in added time as Marmoush’s free-kick rebounded off the woodwork for a Gonzalez tap-in.
[(Gangwon FC) Strength]: 1. Last season in the Korean FA Cup, Gangwon FC were eliminated in the Round of 16. This season, the team have made a breakthrough so far and have advanced to the semi-finals. In this second leg, they will play at home and have a strong desire to win.2. Lee Ji Ho, a forward of Gangwon FC, has had limited playing time this season. However, he has maintained high offensive e...
[(Everton F.C.) Strength]: 1. On August 24th, in the 2nd round of the Premier League, Everton F.C. secured a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., with Jack Grealish providing two assists and putting in an impressive performance.2. Everton F.C. kept unbeaten in the last 3 Premier League home games with 2 wins and 1 draw, showing excellent performances.3. Everton F.C. h...
[(Nagoya Grampus) Strength]: 1. Nagoya Grampus are on a 2-game losing streak. They are motivated to win this home game to boost their morale.2. Soichiro Mori scored a goal and made an assist in the last game, showing outstanding form.3. Nagoya Grampus secured a 3-game winning streak in their last 3 encounters between both sides, giving them a better mentality.[(Nagoya Grampus) Neutral]: 1. Nagoya ...
[(Grimsby Town F.C.) Strength]: 1. Grimsby Town F.C. player Jaze Kabia scored in the last game, with reliable form.2. Grimsby Town F.C. drew 1-1 against Accrington Stanley in the last game, but they still kept unbeaten among all events in the new season, being in stable form.3. Grimsby Town F.C.'s home performance was outstanding. They won all the last 3 home games.4. Grimsby Town F.C. have a good...
[(FC Machida Zelvia) Strength]: 1. FC Machida Zelvia are undoubtedly motivated to win this home game to qualify for the semi-finals.2. Yuki Soma scored 10 goals and made 6 assists across all competitions this season, being important on the team's offense.3. FC Machida Zelvia drew 0-0 with Yokohama F. Marinos in the last game. They were unbeaten with 11 wins and 1 draw in the last 12 games, showing...
[(Reading F.C.) Strength]: 1. Reading F.C. are playing in the EFL League One this season and are on a 3-game winless run lately. They need to return to winning ways, indicating full motivation in this game.2. Lewis Wing scored a goal and made an assist in the last game, helping the team tie with Wycombe Wanderers F.C.3. Reading F.C. won the last 2 games in AH, revealing recent performances in line...
[(Sheffield Wed) Strength]: 1. Sheffield Wed have a rather impressive track record in the EFL Cup. In the first round of this season, they defeated Bolton Wanderers F.C., another team from the EFL Championship, and have posted 3 wins and 2 draws in their last 5 EFL Cup games.2. Sheffield Wed lost only 1 of the last 5 games in AH with stable performances. They ended all the last 4 games with OVER.[...
[(Eintracht Braunschweig) Strength]: 1. As a 2. Bundesliga side, Eintracht Braunschweig have made a solid start to the new season. Having been eliminated in the first round of the DFB-Pokal in each of the past two seasons, the team will undoubtedly be eager to achieve a better performance when they compete in the tournament again this season. Therefore, they will be full of determination when faci...
[(Sturm Graz) Strength]: 1. Sturm Graz suffered a crushing defeat in the first leg on the road. In this home match, they have to go all out to attack, with full motivation to win.2. Sturm Graz midfielder Otar Kiteishvili scored 4 goals in three league games this season, performing excellently in the league. As the starting forward of the team, his performance in this match is worth keeping an eye ...
[(Burnley) Strength]: 1. Burnley's key midfielder Josh Cullen not only opened the scoring for the team in the last game but also provided an assist, emerging as the biggest contributor to the victory with an outstanding individual performance.2. Burnley claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Sunderland in their last game, securing their first victory of the new Premier League season and boosting the t...
- 1 Ruben Amorim gives cryptic response when asked about Andre Onana returning to starting XI for Fulham clash after Altay Bayindir blunder handed Arsenal victory
- 2 'Victory Bodes Well for Future' – Gasperini Delighted with Roma’s Opening Day Win
- 3 TIPS - Eintracht Frankfurt VS Werder Bremen
- 4 Transfer rumors, news: Arsenal could turn to Lyon's Fofana
- 5 Antony’s Man United Exit Hopes Rest on Fresh Real Betis Bid Within 'Next 24 Hours'
- 6 TIPS - Cerezo Osaka VS Vissel Kobe
- 7 TIPS - Gamba Osaka VS Yokohama FC
- 8 TIPS - Schalke 04 VS VfL Bochum
- 9 TIPS - Sunderland A.F.C. VS Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
- 10 TIPS - Olympique de Marseille VS Paris FC