Madrid, Feb 20 (IANS) Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid eased into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League on Thursday (IST) after a 3-1 win over Manchester City in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, securing a 6-3 aggregate win after last week’s 3-2 victory in Manchester.
City striker Erling Haaland was carrying a knee injury, and the Norwegian, who had scored twice a week ago, started the game on the subs’ bench as his side struggled from start to finish, looking fragile in defense again, while failing to produce anything in attack until the game was all but over, reports Xinhua.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was able to bring Antonio Rudiger back after injury, which allowed him to play Raul Asencio at right-back and move Federico Valverde into midfield.
In the fourth minute, Asencio sent over a long ball that Ruben Dias failed to deal with under pressure from Mbappe, and the France forward lobbed the ball over City goalkeeper Ederson, who was caught in no-man’s land.
Things got worse for City a minute later when John Stones went down under pressure from Vinicius and had to be replaced by Nathan Ake.
Mbappe doubled Madrid’s lead in the 33rd minute when he finished off a flowing move which ended with Rodrygo passing to the Frenchman to turn and score.
The only bad news for Madrid in the first half was a yellow card for Jude Bellingham which means he will be suspended for the next round’s first leg.
Rodrygo and Valverde both went close to Real Madrid’s third, with Ederson looking far from secure before Mbappe completed his hat-trick, cutting in from the right and scoring with his left foot in the 61st minute.
Madrid’s third goal ended any lingering chance Man City had of getting back into the game, with Pep Guardiola opting not to risk Haaland for a lost cause, and Nico Gonzalez 92nd-minute strike after Omar Marmoush’s free kick had hit the Madrid bar proved nothing more than a consolation goal.
–IANS
bc/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
