Real Madrid – Manchester City: Valverde’s Hat-trick Leaves The Citizens In A Nightmare (3-0)

The Real Madrid vs. Manchester City games have always been unorthodox fixtures. This time was no different. Federico Valverde had taken Guardiola’s side aback and throned himself as the champion of the night at Bernabeu, banking a hat-trick in the first half. Defensive resilience, direct attacks, and transitions sealed the night for Los Blancos, whereas Jeremy Doku appeared to be the only threat for Manchester City.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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Heading into their high-stakes clash against Manchester City, Real Madrid found themselves fluctuating between highs and lows. After Barcelona went through a crisis of results, Los Blancos returned to lead La Liga. However, it lasted only one week, as Alvaro Arbeloa’s side squandered six points in two consecutive games, which saw them get back to second place with four points behind the Catalans. Real Madrid indeed stopped the points bleeding after passing Celta Vigo’s test successfully. Nonetheless, the score didn’t paint the whole reality. Real Madrid was so fragile out of possession and seemed short of solutions when having the ball. In fact, injuries and suspensions have a large share in how Arbeloa’s side looks, but underperformance remains prevalent throughout the season.

In contrast, Manchester City is still competing in all competitions. Their first final of the season is on the horizon against Arsenal in the EFL Cup. Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola have another battle in the Premier League. After Manchester City had closed the gap to a two-point difference, the Nottingham draw turned the deficit into seven points, with one game for the Citizens in hand. Additionally, Guardiola’s side advanced to the quarter-final of the FA Cup after edging past Newcastle. A game that saw the return of Manchester City’s wide threats in Jeremy Doku and Savinho. Furthermore, in the buildup to Madrid’s game, Guardiola praised the St. James Park game for bringing back the team’s performances, with full control and dominance.

Álvaro Arbeloa started the game with Dean Huijsen and Antonio Rüdiger at the heart of the defense. Alexander-Arnold operated as right back, with Ferland Mendy keeping his position, as Alvaro Carreras was absent due to injury. Aurélien Tchouaméni slotted in as a defensive midfielder, with Federico Valverde and Thiago Pitarch as central midfielders. Arda Güler operated behind Brahim Díaz and Vinícius Júnior.

Pep Guardiola started with Ruben Dias partnering Marc Guehi in the middle of the backline. Nico O’Reilly acted as left back, whereas Abdukodir Khusanov was tasked with shutting down the right side. Bernardo Silva and Rodri formed the pivot. Savinho and Jeremy Doku hugged the touchlines. Anthoine Semenyo operated behind Erling Haaland.

Real Madrid’s transitions, Doku’s threat

The first minute of the game revealed Manchester City’s high press weaknesses. Semenyo joined Haaland to engage with the center-backs, with Savinho, Doku, Bernardo Silva, and Rodri forming a diamond in midfield. Savinho jumped onto Mendy, whereas Arda Güler immediately dropped down the left flank, drawing Khusanow forward. A one-two combination between Mendy and Güler saw the hosts break down City’s first line of the press. Bernardo Silva shifted across to close down Tchouaméni, whilst Rodri, in a zonal role, covered the space on the left, and Doku narrowed inside toward Brahim Diaz. As a result, Pitarch remained free to bridge between the left side and Arnold.

The third minute was no different. Courtois split the wide center-backs, Arda Güler acted as a situational left back, attracting Savinho’s attention, with Mendy taking a high position down the left half-space. As a consequence, Real Madrid created a four-versus-three situation in the middle of the park. At the front line, Valverde operated as a false nine, with Vinícius Júnior hugging the touchlines and Brahim Diaz roaming in the center. The wide center-backs meant that Manchester City’s front two had to cover a large distance. Hence, Huijsen was able to slide a line-breaking pass into Mendy, who found the free Pitarch in the central channel. A miscued pass from the latter turned an opportunity to expose the visitors’ frailties into a transition for Guardiola’s side. Doku picked up the ball down the center and dribbled past whoever came in front of him. Mendy’s quick recovery run halted Doku’s effort.

In possession, Manchester City lined up in a 3-1-3-3 shape, in which O’Reilly and Semenyo filled the left and right half-spaces, with Bernardo Silva slotting behind Haaland. As a response, Real Madrid committed up to six defenders at the backline, pouncing on every lateral pass to force the play backward and press City high up the pitch. Four minutes in, Real Madrid jumped out from a 4-4-2 diamond shape. Manchester City worked the ball into Savinho, who dropped in. The hosts had the touchlines as an extra defender, and the backward lane was shut down by Arda Güler. The inside pass to Semenyo remained the only solution for Savinho. The White team predicted that Huijsen, Mendy, Güler, and Tchouaméni caged City’s pair and forced the error.

When relying on long balls, Courtois targeted Valverde on the right to beat O’Reilly in the air and head the ball back inside. At the start, the hosts weren’t capable of winning the second ball, as they didn’t commit numbers forward. As a result, Manchester City collected the second ball and exploited the gap between the lines to overload Real Madrid’s midfield to cut through and find Doku. The latter came out on top in his one-on-one situations, attacking the byline to cut the ball back. Despite many City legs in the box, Doku’s deliveries cut across with Real Madrid’s players around the box collecting the ball to hurt Guardiola’s side on the counter. The space between the visiting players in the rest defense was at a premium for the home team to scamper forward. Real Madrid would work the ball toward the right and play it back inside, attempting to spot the tiny gaps across City’s backline for a through ball.

As aforementioned, Real Madrid reacted to Manchester City in possession shape by equaling their numbers across the backline. The Citizens relied on Doku’s individual brilliance to generate a threat. As a response, Valverde and Arnold doubled up on the Belgian winger, with Pitarch covering O’Reilly down the left half-space. However, Bernardo Silva joined his teammate down the channel, overloading Pitarch. Doku set O’Reilly near the byline; however, Guardiola’s team wasn’t capable of capitalizing on cutbacks.

Valverde is the secret

Courtois’ long launches were delivered with precision to Valverde on the right side. Real Madrid made use of the space between Rodri and the rest of the diamond to collect the second ball. To elaborate, Rodri would follow Brahim Diaz toward the ball zone, whilst Pitarch would instantly pounce on the knockdown. The White team benefited from the overload in the midfield to work the ball to Vinicius Junior and push the Citizens deeper. Therefore, there was space at the edge of the box for Real Madrid’s players to shoot.

19th minute: Real Madrid’s goal. Marc Guehi steps up to keep close tabs on Brahim Diaz. Courtois clips the ball over the top for Valverde behind O’Reilly. The former beats the latter for the knockdown. Valverde continued his way forward, dribbling past Donnarumma to finish from an angle.

In the middle third, Real Madrid tended to entice Manchester City to jump out from their zonal structure. Rudiger would bait Haaland by holding onto the ball and waiting for Semenyo to proceed with a run toward Huijsen. Bernardo Silva followed his teammates, and as the optimal situation was set, Rüdiger would pick out Tchouaméni, who was ready to receive on the half turn and feed one of the free midfielders down the stretched space between the lines. From there, Real Madrid clustered the play on the left, seizing the opportunity to switch and put Valverde in isolation against O’Reilly.

Manchester City’s high press woes paved the road for Real Madrid to exacerbate the situation for Guardiola’s team. Twenty-seven minutes in, Tchouaméni and Pitarch overloaded Bernardo Silva at the edge of the box. Courtois picked out Mendy, whereas Brahim Diaz and Arda Güler darted deeper down the left half-space. Hence, the home team had two free men to scamper forward. Brahim Diaz worked the ball to Vinicius Junior, who drifted infield between the lines. Meanwhile, Valverde moved inside, running between O’Reilly and Guehi and exploiting the blindside of the latter to receive Vinicius’ through ball and guide the ball toward the far side angle of the net.

30th minute: Real Madrid’s buildup sequence. The home team funnels the play toward Mendy. Arda Güler comes short to overload Manchester City’s midfield, with Ruben Dias not fully committing. Bernardo Silva drops toward the Turkish midfielder. Güler squares the ball to Vinicius Junior, who prods it back inside onto the free Tchouaméni. From there, Real Madrid has Pitarch to link the two sides of the pitch.

Out of possession, Valverde would swap his position with Arnold to double up on Doku, with Pitarch covering behind the pair. That limited the Belgian winger’s threat down the left side. Manchester City looked for other alternatives to penetrate the box. In other words, doubling up and tripling up on Doku gave Manchester City’s players behind-the-ball space and time. Moreover, O’Reilly tended to dummy his deeper movements to pull out one of the hosts’ midfielders, allowing Bernardo Silva to sneak behind and receive Rodri’s pass over the top. Fortunately, Valverde quickly recovered his position, clearing the danger away.

With three minutes still until the end of the first half, Valverde rose to the occasion again. Seconds later, Courtois collected Doku’s cross and looked to exploit Manchester City’s disorganized lines to counter. He fed Brahim Diaz down the left half-space. The Moroccan released Vinicius Junior behind Khusanov. The Brazilian penetrated the box and played the ball back to Arda Güler at the edge of the box to find Pitarch around O’Reilly. Pitarch picked out Brahim Diaz, who drew Doku, Rodri, Dias, and O’Reilly’s attention. In the meantime, Valverde crept down the gap between the center-backs to receive Brahim Diaz’s chip and skip past Guehi to bank the hat trick.

Manchester City via the half-space, Real Madrid via transitions

Pep Guardiola brought Tijjani Reijnders in for Savinho. Semenyo and Bernardo Silva tended to swap positions on the right side, pulling across Arda Güler and the substitute Fran Garcia. Hence, Semenyo or Bernardo Silva could cut inside and whip crosses to Haaland, Reijnders, and O’Reilly. However, Manchester City’s rest defense wasn’t capable of preventing Real Madrid from countering. The second minute of the second half saw Tchouaméni clear Semenyo’s cross toward Vinicius Junior. The latter escaped Semenyo and Rodri’s pressure to find Valverde down the right half-space. The Uruguayan and Brahim Diaz generated a two-versus-one situation on O’Reilly near the touchlines. The Moroccan dribbled past City’s left back, whilst Vinicius Junior and Valverde pushed the backline rearward. As a consequence, Brahim Diaz had space to advance and skip past Guehi to shoot. Donnarumma saved Diaz’s delivery.

Similar to the first half, the visitors relied on Doku to dictate their attacks. Real Madrid sat in a 5-4-1 low block, with Arnold and Brahim Diaz doubling up on Doku. In the left half-space, O’Reilly and Reijnders pinned Valverde and Rudiger, with Güler, Tchouaméni, and Pitarch covering the space in front of the backline. Doku drove inside, taking advantage of Rüdiger and Valverde committing toward O’Reilly to slide the ball to Reijnders. The latter attempted to cross the ball toward the far post; however, his delivery was far away.

Out of possession, Manchester City’s high press problems had no end in sight. Real Madrid kept overloading the midfield to generate the free man inside. Not only that, but Fran Garcia tended to push on, whilst Rüdiger and Huijsen split wide alongside Courtois. With Manchester City’s narrow shape off-ball and Real Madrid’s double pivots in close proximity, Huijsen had space and time on the ball to break down the visitors’ lines and pick out free options.

51st minute: After Courtois feeds Pitarch, Tchouaméni darts toward the right to drag Reijnders with him and allow Pitarch to find Huijsen in space. Pitarch’s movements down the right delay Rodri’s lateral shift. Moreover, Fran Garcia advances, drawing Semenyo backward. Thus, Real Madrid generates a three-versus-two situation. Huijsen picks out Brahim Diaz, who bounces the pass off to Tchouaméni, whereas Güler creeps freely across between the lines to develop his team’s progression phase.

With backward passes, Manchester City tended to bait Real Madrid forward, whilst Haaland and Reijnders pinned the center-backs. So, the Citizens could work the ball out down the expanded space between the lines. In fact, O’Reilly had the license to roam. He pulled out Pitarch in the center, with Arda Güler shifting across to cover the wide channels. O’Reilly sneaked behind Pitarch, whereas Semenyo and Bernardo Silva switched positions. Khusanov broke Real Madrid’s midfield line, accessing O’Reilly down the right half-space. From there, the latter and Semenyo outnumbered Tchouaméni, working the ball to Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese drew Fran Garcia’s attention, whereas Semenyo darted between Tchouaméni and Huijsen to receive Bernardo’s pass toward the byline. Reijnders arrived from behind toward the near post, whilst Haaland attacked the far post. However, Semenyo shot the ball into Courtois’s hands.

68th minute: Reijnders ties Fran Garcia’s hands down the right half-space, and Bernardo Silva anchors Tchouaméni in the central channel. Semenyo targets Güler’s blindside to cut diagonally behind the backline. Rodri spots Semenyo’s run and clips the ball over the top. Rüdiger’s last-second ditch prevents Haaland from a tap-in near the far post.

Real Madrid repeatedly kept cutting through Manchester City’s 4-4-2 diamond high press. As previously mentioned, Rüdiger and Huijsen splitting wide forced Haaland and Reijnders to replicate their movements. Bernardo Silva ran toward Courtois. Hence, the latter had space to break down City’s first line of pressure. Doku, Semenyo, and Rodri swarmed around centrally; however, it was late as Pitarch easily accessed Arnold near the touchlines. From there, Real Madrid’s right back glided the ball down the gap between the center-backs and onto Brahim Diaz. The home team worked the ball to Vinicius Junior, who cut in and curled the ball toward the far post zone.

Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki came on for Bernardo Silva and Anthoine Semenyo. Ait-Nouri hugged the touchlines, whilst Jeremy Doku drifted infield. Similar dynamics occurred on the right with Khusanov and Rayan Cherki. Down the left half-space, Reijnders tended to drop in and draw Arnold forward. So, Doku was able to crash the box, dribbling past Mastantuono. However, the latter, Manuel Ángel, and Arnold swarmed around the Belgian to restrict his ability. In addition, Doku had the license to stroll, so he would join Cherki on the right. There, the latter drew Real Madrid’s midfielders toward him and slid a through ball to Doku. Inside the box, the Belgian winger couldn’t beat the numbers pouncing on him.

Takeaways

At the start, Manchester City seemed to overrun Real Madrid, with Jeremy Doku running riot on the left side. However, Arbeloa’s team exposed Manchester City’s high press, capitalizing on their defensive frailties to cut through. Not only that, but Real Madrid had been able to exploit the Citizens rest defense in counterattacks, which was punctuated by Vinicius roaming in large spaces before Donnarumma fouled him inside the box. Federico Valverde was the secret for the White team, operating as a forward attacking spaces in behind, a target for long balls, and a solid defender out of possession.

Before the game, the atmosphere surrounding Real Madrid, the momentum Manchester City gained against Newcastle, the return of City’s injured players, and Los Blancos absentees tipped the scales toward Pep Guardiola’s side to fly back to Manchester with a good result in the pocket. Nevertheless, the Bernabeu proved once again that there is no logic or reason to relate to Real Madrid on Champions League nights. Whilst the majority expected Real Madrid would threaten the Citizens via Vinicius Junior pulling off one of his brilliant moments, Valverde crowned himself as the only champion of the Bernabeu epic.

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