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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Already assured of a World Cup berth, India would aim for the winners` trophy at the FIH Women`s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers and take a step forward in that direction by winning the semifinal against Italy here on Friday. The Indian women`s hockey team finished on top of Pool B with seven points from three matches. Scotland also collected same points but finished second in the group because of India`s superior goal difference.

The hosts registered two wins and one draw in the pool stage. Italy finished second in Pool A with four points after registering one win, one draw and one loss, giving the hosts a slight psychological edge ahead of the semifinal. India will look to build on the impressive form of forward Navneet Kaur, who is currently the joint top-scorer of the tournament with four goals. She produced a standout performance in the final pool match against Wales, scoring a brilliant hat-trick to cap off the group stage in style. Italy, meanwhile, will rely on Federica Carta, who has been their key attacking threat and has scored three goals so far in the competition. On paper and form, India hold a major advantage over Italy.

In terms of head-to-head encounters, India and Italy have faced each other seven times since 2012. India have won five of those matches, while Italy have registered one victory and one game ended in a draw, giving the hosts a slight psychological edge. India`s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne, who is back at the helm after the Tokyo Olympics, termed the achievement as a significant milestone. “Securing qualification for the FIH Hockey Women`s World Cup 2026 is an important milestone for this group, and the players deserve a lot of credit for the way they have performed so far in the tournament,” he said. “They have shown good discipline, composure and attacking intent throughout the pool stage.

“At the same time, our mindset is very clear — we are not here just to qualify. We want to keep improving with every match and aim to win the tournament. The semifinal is another big challenge and we will approach it with full focus and intensity.” The Dutchman, however, cautioned his wards to take Italy lightly. “Italy are a competitive side and they have shown in this tournament that they can trouble strong teams. For us, the focus will be on executing our plans well, maintaining our structure, and continuing to play with the same energy and confidence,” he said. The FIH Women`s World Cup will be played along side the men`s competition to be jointly hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium from August 15 to 30.

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