There could not be many sights better than the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night. A house-full stadium, uniformly carpeted in white under a closed roof and singing in unison, the stage was set for a banger of a clash.
Real Madrid and Manchester City took to the field and engaged in a thrilling battle with no dearth of goals. The game lived up to its hype and boasted of high-quality football from the initial whistle to the final one.
Bernardo Silva opened the scoring for the visitors early, but Real Madrid found two goals in three minutes to pull off a mini-comeback.
After half-time, however, it was City all the way through. Golazos from Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol helped them take a 3-2 lead on the night. Fede Valverde, however, had other plans as he netted a stunner to equalise.
Madrid Universal brings you the player ratings from Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City.
Andriy Lunin: 7
The Ukrainian star was caught off-guard by Bernardo Silva’s cheeky free-kick in the opening minutes of the game but did not allow it to affect his game.
Made two vital saves before half-time to keep Real Madrid in the game and followed it up with a solid showing in the second half.
Absolutely nothing he could do about the golazos from Foden or Gvardiol, needless to say.
Dani Carvajal: 6
Faced with the task of defending against Jack Grealish on the night, Real Madrid’s veteran defender showed good resilience. However, his contribution in the final third and distribution were far from his best.
Aurelien Tchouameni: 6
Carlo Ancelotti opted to deploy the French midfielder in central defence over Nacho on the night, and the player did not earn any favours by jumping into a rash foul seconds into the game.
Booked early, he was not only forced to spend the 90 minutes with caution but will also miss the second leg.
Antonio Rudiger: 7.5
The German defender had an extraordinary first half, completely pocketing Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and barely allowing him to breathe in the Real Madrid area.
Just like his teammates, he struggled to keep up steam with City in the second half but still completed the game with 12 defensive actions.
Ferland Mendy: 6
The Frenchman was put to a stiff challenge against Bernardo Silva on the night, and it is safe to say he came out second-best more often than not. Struggled to keep up with the Portuguese star’s magic and did not conjure anything in the final third either.
Eduardo Camavinga: 8
The French prodigy was a lively presence in the Manchester City area from the get-go and helped was the force behind Real Madrid’s equaliser just 12 minutes into the game. Taking a shot from a distance, his strike found a lucky deflection and beat Stefan Ortega in goal.
Toni Kroos: 8.5
The German maestro was Real Madrid’s engine as always, dictating the play and ever so reliable on the ball. Played a massive role in the team’s pressure off the ball, coming up with vital tackles to recover the ball.
Completed a staggering seven of seven attempted long balls and 52 of 54 attempted passes.
Federico Valverde: 8
A standard run-of-the-mill performance from Valverde as he did the so-called ‘dirty work’ off the ball. Struggled to keep up with City’s tempo in the second half, as was the case with his teammates.
Came up with a peach of a volley in the 78th minute to level the score once more, pulling back the deficit.
Jude Bellingham: 7
The English talisman was far from his best on the night, struggling to even knit together passes at times. Did well with dribbles on a couple of occasions but was one of Real Madrid’s weaker links in midfield.
Rodrygo: 8.5
Deployed surprisingly on the left flank with Vinicius, the Brazilian attacker stood out with his dribbling prowess and ability in the opposition box.
Netted the team’s second goal of the night, with a well-worked solo run and calm finish after being sent through by Vinicius.
Vinicius Jr: 8.5
Switching between a relatively central role and a place on the left side, Vinicius adapted to a new role with relative ease. Connected brilliantly with Rodrygo to assist his compatriot, threading the ball through City’s defence and setting him free.
Came painfully close to scoring in the 55th minute but failed to hit the target. Secured a second assist of the night with a lovely lobbed pass to Valverde in the 78th minute.
Substitutes
Luka Modric: 7
The veteran brought energy to Real Madrid’s midfield and made a useful cameo, creating chances with several clever touches.
Brahim Diaz: 5
The youngster was barely involved despite playing over 15 minutes off the bench, minimal impact.
Joselu: NA
Came on too late to make an impact.