Federico Valverde scored his first career hat-trick to blow away Manchester City in the first half of their UCL match
Federico Valverde scored a first half hattrick to hand Real Madrid a 3-0 win over Manchester City in their UEFA Champions League (UCL) round of 16 first leg encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
The Spanish capital club’s captain was in devastating mode for the 15-time UCL winners against City, netting the first hattrick of his career in front of the Madrid fans.
The encounter was a stark contrast to the 2-1 loss Real Madrid suffered to same opponent earlier in the group phase, with Alvaro Arbeloa’s side in full swing against an unusually gassed Man City.
Valverde put Real Madrid ahead against the run of play on 20 minutes. The Uruguayan latched on to Thibaut Courtois’s long punt forward and budged the ball beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma before finishing into an empty net.
He doubled the lead seven minutes later with a shot across the face of goal into the bottom corner. He completed the hattrick three minutes to the end of the first half with a measured finish from Brahim Diaz’s exquisite pass to send the crowd to dreamland with Real Madrid 3-0 up at the break.
Vinicius Jr. missed a second half penalty to extend the lead further, while Courtois produced a point blank save to keep a clean sheet, and the three-goal advantage going into the second leg in England next week.
In other matches, Paris Saint-Germain’s second half blitz overpowered Chelsea for a 5-2 victory over Liam Rosenior’s side in Paris.
Bradley Barcola and Ousmanne Dembele’s solo strikes were cancelled by Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez in the first half, but Chelsea had no response to strike from Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia late double, as their UCL progression hangs in the balance.
Boo/Glimt continued their European form with a 3-0 win over Sporting Lisbon, while Arsenal needed a late penalty to secure a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen.
RESULTS
Real Madrid 3-0 Manchester City
Paris Saint-Germain 5-2 Chelsea
Bodo/Glimt 3-0 Sporting Lisbon
Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Arsenal
