The stuff of boyhood dreams for Kylian Mbappe but the continuation of Manchester City’s altogether newer nightmare and the confirmation of how far and how fast they have fallen. For Mbappe, his first great European evening at the Bernabeu yielded a hat-trick for the club he supported as a child. But, two years after winning the Champions League, City have been eliminated while Club Brugge remain in it. It has been a shocking fall from grace. And yet there was nothing surprising about elimination to Real Madrid: not to anyone who has watched their season. A 13th defeat in 26 games, a fourth in their last four away in Europe, was inevitable from the moment Mbappe lobbed Real ahead.
For Pep Guardiola, there was no remontada, no comeback for the ages, nothing to rescue City’s worst season in the Champions League for a dozen years. There was just a defeat that was as comprehensive as it was predictable. City have had hard-luck stories in many of their Champions League exits. This wasn’t one of them. They were outclassed, the match stripped of its tension from the start.
This has been an epic rivalry but, while Real required late goals to beat City last week, now there is a gulf between the teams. An aggregate score of 6-3 was emphatic but Real could have won by more if they needed to. City could have been humiliated. Instead, they were simply dispatched.
There were images of indignities for them. Of Ruben Dias failing to head the ball for Mbappe’s first, of Josko Gvardiol sliding in the wrong direction for his second. City have conceded 19 goals in their last seven Champions League games. They have been culpable in far too many.
While Mbappe was sleekness personified, City were passive. Guardiola, who rarely hides his emotions, looked downcast and despondent. He had conjured an unexpected line-up, but perhaps there was no combination of players from this City squad who would have sent them through.
Because there was an imperious element to Real. At times, they were content to toy with City. At others, it was a demonstration of superiority. With Mbappe’s stepovers, with Rodrygo’s sidesteps, they had the showmen to enjoy the occasion.
Some 180 minutes of football may have been decided in nine, plus stoppage time, separated by a week but bringing three goals. Real finished with a flourish at the Etihad and started at speed at home, letting City pass the ball and then scoring with their first raid forward.
It was a goal that felt too simple, Fede Valverde feeding a ball over the top, Dias heading thin air and City’s high defensive line exploited by a famously fast forward. Mbappe had shinned in a goal last week. This time, his finish was purer, lofting the ball over the stranded Ederson.
His second came when Rodrygo fed in a deft pass. Mbappe fooled Gvardiol with a sharp turn and duly defeated Ederson. The goalkeeper made a terrific save to deny him a hat-trick; for all of three minutes, anyway, until Mbappe placed a shot past him.
While the benched Erling Haaland watched on, Mbappe scored his 14th goal in 11 games. The Frenchman may have been overshadowed by the Norwegian for much of the match last week: in Haaland’s absence, he had the final say. City’s scorer instead was Nico Gonzalez, with an open goal after Omar Marmoush’s free kick came back off the bar. It at least gave two newcomers a moment to enjoy.
They were parachuted in as Guardiola’s team selection may have prompted Carlo Ancelotti to raise an eyebrow in surprise. It was a side to lend itself to the familiar accusations of overthinking. There was no Haaland, who limped off on Saturday, but with Abdukodir Khusanov at right-back on just his third City start. Benched for the first leg, Phil Foden was used as the false nine in the second. He was anonymous. Guardiola’s plans were doubly disturbed in the opening eight minutes, first by Mbappe’s opener, then by the loss of the injured John Stones. If the verdict may be that he had ripped up last week’s blueprint more in desperation than inspiration, there was none to be found in this group of players, some only recently arrived, some in decline, some short of sharpness or confidence or form. Not when, besides everything else, Real had a physical edge. City were overpowered in midfield. They often are.
So perhaps Guardiola wasn’t engaging in mind games when he said City had a one percent chance in this leg. Perhaps it was simply a reasonable assessment. Because very little in City’s last four months suggested they could triumph at the Bernabeu. And whereas their 2023 Champions League win brought predictions of an era of continental dominance, they now look misguided. The constants are instead Real and a 16th European Cup feels very possible for them.
