Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfielder matches Lionel Messi’s record after stunning performance vs Man City
Federico Valverde delivered one of the most memorable performances of his career as Real Madrid defeated Manchester City 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
The Uruguayan midfielder produced a remarkable first-half display at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, scoring all three goals to give Real Madrid a commanding advantage heading into the second leg.
Valverde’s performance not only secured a major result for Real Madrid but also placed his name among some of the biggest stars in Champions League history.
Three remarkable goals
The breakthrough came early in the match. In the 20th minute, Valverde opened the scoring with an impressive individual effort.
Just eight minutes later, the midfielder doubled Real Madrid’s advantage and the third goal, which completed the hat-trick before halftime, was arguably the most spectacular.
In the 43rd minute, Brahim Diaz played a clever pass into the box. Valverde controlled the ball with a brilliant sombrero over Marc Guehi and, without letting it drop, finished perfectly to beat Donnarumma once again.
What’s the story?
Scoring three goals in the first half of a Champions League knockout match is an extremely rare achievement.
According to AS, with this performance, Valverde joined a very exclusive group of players who have managed the same feat.
The list includes legendary names such as Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland and Anthony Gordon.
Valverde also entered another remarkable list connected to teams coached by Pep Guardiola.
Over the years, only a handful of players have managed to score a hat-trick against a Guardiola side.
That group includes famous names such as Sergio Aguero, Messi, Jamie Vardy, Christopher Nkunku, Viktor Gyokeres and Kylian Mbappe.
What makes Valverde’s achievement even more impressive is that he becomes the first midfielder among these players to accomplish this feat.
Real Madrid News
Mbappe hits out at claims on his unhappiness at Real Madrid: ‘Angry at my great aunt too’
Kylian Mbappe has been in the news for a plethora of reasons in recent weeks, starting with his injury and surprise vacation. Beyond that, the Ballon d’Or saga has kept him in the spotlight for a reasonable while now.
The Frenchman, after all, has not held back in speaking out about why he deserves to win the prestigious individual award, and while it is perfectly okay to campaign for the award, it is something that has not usually been done in the past.
In terms of his goalscoring numbers, there is no doubt that Mbappe should be a frontrunner for the award. His lack of a single trophy for both club and country, however, works against his chances.
Mbappe’s sarcastic reply to baseless rumours
Earlier today, there were reports of Kylian Mbappe being angry with Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid for not campaigning for him to win the Ballon d’Or this year.
The rumours, needless to say, portrayed the player in a very bad light and made it seem like the club not making public gestures to acknowledge and back his campaign affected him personally.
Now, the player has himself come out to lash out at the journalists, albeit in a sarcastic manner. Commenting directly below the post making the claim via Fabrizio Romano, the player wrote,
“Yes, yes, I even got angry with my great aunt too.”
Mbappe’s ability to deal with such reports with a tinge of humour, needless to say, is impressive and it can only be good for his image that he spoke out and cut off the news at its roots.
Set to return
There has been significant concern around Mbappe’s fitness in recent weeks after the player left the French national team with an injury after their first game.
The initial diagnosis appeared worrying, but it soon came to light that the player had avoided a major setback by a hair’s breadth.
Now, there is increasing hope that the Frenchman will be back for Real Madrid’s first game after the break against Villarreal, possibly even as a starter.
Needless to say, that comes as a massive positive for Jose Mourinho’s plans ahead of a crucial stretch of the season.
