Manchester City and Real Madrid played an all-time Champions League classic on Tuesday, with Pep Guardiola’s side taking home a 4-3 win in the semifinal first leg. The English side were dominant at times, but their relentless opponents fought back time and time again to leave the tie open ahead of next Wednesday’s second leg in Madrid.
Six different players scored on the night, the goalkeepers had games they will want to soon forget, and so many players stepped up in a match that will be referenced for years to come.
But who were the best of the bunch? Here are our player ratings for the match:
Manchester City player ratings
By James Benge
|
(GK) Ederson |
90 |
There were several moments that for any other goalkeeper you might describe as the sort to spread panic in the defensive ranks, though you suspect with Ederson his City teammates just know their goalkeeper feels at ease. He could do little about any of Madrid’s three goals and in shotstopping terms had precious little else to do. His passing under pressure was customarily excellent. |
5 |
|
(DEF) John Stones |
36 |
Given the challenge ahead of him — defending the Champions League’s leading chance creator going into the game — Stones did as well as could have been reasonably expected before being withdrawn, possibly due to injury. |
6 |
|
(DEF) Ruben Dias |
90 |
Dias’ night might have been defined by the most comedic of own goals, the sort that would have headlined football VHS comedies 30 years ago, and must have been hugely relieved when his back pass rolled achingly against the post. Understandably, he does not yet look back to his best. |
6 |
|
(DEF) Aymeric Laporte |
90 |
So many of the fizzing passes that launched City’s most dangerous darts upfield came from Laporte’s boot. Defensively he blotted what had otherwise been a perfectly reasonable copybook with a baffling handball to hand Madrid a penalty. |
6 |
|
(DEF) Oleksandr Zinchenko |
90 |
Zinchenko is no natural on the back foot but in the first half he made a string of crucial interventions to slow the dangerous Rodrygo. As the match wore on he became more effective as an attacking force whilst still keeping things tight at the back. |
7 |
|
(MID) Rodri |
90 |
Assertive without the ball and reliable with it, this was Rodri to a tee. As City’s defenders roamed further forward in search of a greater advantage in this tie, he dropped in alongside Dias, always ready to receive a pass and keep the ball at City’s feet. |
8 |
|
(MID) Kevin De Bruyne |
90 |
Another showpiece tie has been bent to De Bruyne’s will. From his perfectly timed dart to flick in Riyad Mahrez’s cross, he was at his very best, showcasing the full repertoire of inch-perfect passes, dynamic runs and strength in duels. |
9 |
|
(MID) Bernardo Silva |
90 |
A dizzying array of flicks and feints had veteran midfielders looking extremely foolish when they got too close to Bernardo. He kept frustrating Madrid until the 74th minute, picking the ball up after Zinchenko was fouled, finishing in the near corner for the goal that might be enough to swing the tie City’s way. |
8 |
|
(FWD) Riyad Mahrez |
90 |
Perennially underappreciated since departing Leicester, Mahrez reached 32 goal involvements for the season with a magnificent early cross for De Bruyne, one which ought to have tempered Pep Guardiola’s anger when he smashed a right-footed effort into the side of the net. It was not the only moment of profligacy tonight. |
7 |
|
(FWD) Gabriel Jesus |
82 |
He should get linked with a move away more often. Jesus played with the ferocity of a man determined to prove to Guardiola that City don’t need a new number nine. His turn and finish to double the lead a devastating example of center forward play. |
8 |
|
(FWD) Phil Foden |
90 |
Marking his 100th City start with a well taken header, Foden was remorseless in his bullying of the underwhelming Dani Carvajal. He ran at him with force and connected impressively with De Bruyne. |
8 |
|
Fernandinho |
Stones, 37′ |
From divinity to comedy in all of a few seconds, Fernandinho rolled back the years by picking Vinicius’ pocket and delivering a perfect cross for Foden to score City’s third. Then he seemed to age on fast forward as Vinicius let the ball roll through his legs before accelerating away to score. |
5 |
|
Raheem Sterling |
Jesus, 83′ |
Sterling delivered one late flick as City chased the fifth goal they needed to feel secure in this game (and there is a sentence you did not expect to read before kick off), but his chance to change the tie did not come. |
5 |
| Pep Guardiola | 2 | Keeping things simple and dominating possession was as effective a way of shielding City’s right back problem as Guardiola could have come up with. Still, he will surely be asking himself whether there is anything he can do to stop City’s biggest European ties descending into chaos as often as they seem to. | 6 |
Real Madrid player ratings
By Chuck Booth
|
(GK) Thibaut Courtois |
90 |
Not helped much by his defenders, Courtois didn’t do much to help himself either as four goals hit the back of the net from only six shots on target. It could’ve been worse too if it wasn’t for his post saving him. |
4 |
|
(DEF) Ferland Mendy |
90 |
It was a day of two Mendys. The good — two assists on Real Madrid’s goals. The bad — out of position and letting City’s wingers torture his defense. It’s a passable performance but one that won’t fly if Real Madrid want to change things in the next leg. |
6 |
|
(DEF) David Alaba |
45 |
A match to forget for Alaba as he had an error leading to a goal in the opening half. It was not a good showing for a player who has struggled a bit as of late. |
3 |
|
(DEF) Eder Milatao |
90 |
On an island for most of the match, Militao was good as usual in the air but out of position on the ground as Manchester City ran circles around him. He did get forward and had a great look on goal in the second half. |
4 |
|
(DEF) Dani Carvajal |
90 |
Created two chances but also didn’t do enough on the defensive end along with the rest of his team. Not a great day for Los Blancos defenders. |
4 |
|
(MID) Toni Kroos |
90 |
The German veteran was unable to make anything happen with his touches as the midfield pulled a disappearing act on the day. As usual, he played short, square passes and wasn’t all that involved. |
5 |
|
(MID) Luka Modric |
79 |
Well defended by City, Modric didn’t hit his expected standards. He did have three interceptions to help turn defense into attack but it’s rare that Modric didn’t even create a single chance. |
6 |
|
(MID) Federico Valverde |
90 |
Valverde put in a good defensive effort but he couldn’t replace what was missing from Casimerio in a midfield that needed bite. He showed tremendous hustle tracking back though. |
5 |
|
(FWD) Vinicius Junior |
88 |
Unplayable for much of the match, Vini Jr. did it all. Three shots, a well taken individual effort for a goal, and he caused Manchester City issues during the entire night. His goal to pull his team to within a goal at 3-2 was a massive moment. |
8 |
|
(FWD) Rodrygo |
70 |
Had trouble getting by Oleksandr Zinchenko and couldn’t make an impact for Real Madrid. He finished the night with one shot and no chances created. |
5 |
|
(FWD) Karim Benzema |
90 |
Enough words can’t be written about how good Benzema has been. Missing two penalties last weekend then having the courage to hit a Panenka for one goal and delivering another stellar hit with one touch, it was just him being him. Nobody in the world is playing better. |
9 |
|
Nacho |
Alaba, 45′ |
Alaba set a low bar but there was a slight improvement when Nacho came into the match. |
6 |
|
Dani Ceballos |
Modric, 79′ |
Given that Ceballos hasn’t played 200 La Liga minutes this season, there wasn’t much to expect from him in the match, but he was tidy with his passing. |
6 |
|
Marco Asencio |
Vini Jr., 88′ |
Wasn’t on the pitch long enough to make an impact |
N/A |
| Eduardo Camavinga | Rodrygo, 70′ | Camavinga wasn’t able to get on the ball much with how stretched things were and was more of a passenger after subbing into the match. | 5 |
|
Carlo Ancelotti |
4 |
When your team goes behind by two goals within 12 minutes, it’s safe to say that the tactics were all wrong. Credit to the team for fighting back considering the injuries that they dealt with, but it felt like a day where Real Madrid’s luck would finally run out. He has to be thrilled to still have a chance. |
6 |
