Federico Valverde’s superb first-half hat-trick helped Real Madrid demolish Manchester City 3-0 in a surprise Champions League last 16 first leg rout on Wednesday.
Real Madrid were missing several key players including Kylian Mbappe but Uruguayan midfielder Valverde’s stunning treble, netted inside a 22-minute spell, crushed Pep Guardiola’s team at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Vinicius Junior missed a penalty in the second half as Madrid could have built further on their significant lead ahead of the second leg in Manchester next Tuesday.
Even though Madrid are the record 15-time winners, their sketchy form offered little reason to believe they would pull off such a dominant result in what has become a modern Champions League classic.
City, who won the competition for the first and only time in 2023, beat Madrid in the league phase and have strengthened since then.
However, the Spanish giants produced their most convincing display of the season just when it mattered most to leave the Premier League visitors stunned.
Holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) carved out a clear advantage against Chelsea as substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia inspired them to an exhilarating 5-2 first-leg victory at the Parc des Princes.
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PSG twice went ahead through Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele but were pegged back each time by Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez, before Vitinha and Kvaratskhelia, with a double, netted three late goals to put the hosts in control of the tie.
Bodo/Glimt also continued their dream debut Champions League campaign by swatting aside Sporting Lisbon 3-0 to take a big step towards the quarter-finals.
Earlier, Kai Havertz scored an 89th-minute penalty to snatch Arsenal a 1-1 draw away against Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal, who won all eight of their games in the league phase, fell behind to a simple Leverkusen corner when Robert Andrich headed in moments after half-time.
But in the dying stages, substitute Havertz stepped up to convert against his former side after Noni Madueke was brought down in the box.
Leverkusen will need a big performance next Tuesday in the return leg to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since finishing runners-up to Real Madrid in 2002.
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