Federico Valverde’s superb first-half hat-trick helped Real Madrid demolish Manchester City 3-0 in the Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday.
Los Blancos were missing several key players including Kylian Mbappe, but the midfielder’s treble — netted inside a 22-minute spell — crushed Pep Guardiola’s team at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid coach Arbeloa showered praise on Valverde, comparing him to club legend Juanito, who played 401 games for them and was considered by fans to represent the essence of the club because of his performances in vital matches.
Alvaro Arbeloa. Pic/AFP
“Valverde? He’s the Juanito of the 21st century. He’s a reference footballer for this club. Every single thing anyone needs to be a great Real Madrid player, Fede Valverde possesses,” said Arbeloa.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was similarly effusive in his praise for his teammate. “I’m running out of words to describe him. He’s the most underrated footballer on the planet,” said Trent.
Valverde opened the scoring (20th minute) by rounding City custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma after latching onto a long pass. He then added a second (27th) with a powerful left-footed strike and completed his hat-trick (42nd) by chipping the ball over Marc Guehi before volleying home.
20th min
Valverde cleverly rounds Man City custodian Donnarumma for the first goal after latching on to a long pass from Madrid goalkeeper Courtois
27th min
Valverde times his run into the box perfectly before shooting off his weaker foot into the far corner
42nd min
Valverde smartly chips the ball over Man City’s onrushing defender Marc Guehi (centre) before volleying it home to complete his hat-trick
First
Federico Valverde had never scored a hat-trick in his senior career prior to Wednesday
Three
No. of goals midfielder Valverde had scored in his previous 75 UCL matches
Two
No. of times a player has scored a first-half hat-trick against an English opponent in the UCL; the other player to do so was Barcelona’s Lionel Messi vs Arsenal in 2010
29
No. of times Real Madrid have won the first leg of a knockout tie in the UCL by scoring three or more goals
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