It was a horror show in defence by the 13 times Champions League winners Real Madrid as they succumbed to a defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the second leg of their Round of 16 matchup. The likes of Raphael Varane and Eder Militao showed that they were not amply equipped to replace captain Sergio Ramos, who was in the stands, serving his suspension, as the Manchester City forwards were gifted their two goals. The game ended 2-1 in favour of Pep Guardiola’s side, helping them to move to the quarter-final with an aggregate of 4-2.
Gabriel Jesus capitalised on a horrendous error in the box by Varane as the French defender was dispossessed by the Brazilian, who then sent the ball in the path of Raheem Sterling to complete the tap-in in the 9th minute of the match. The Brazilian doubled the lead in the 68th minute to show Los Blancos the exit door, thanks to another defensive error by Varane. Karim Benzema’s individual effort gave the visitors some momentum in the 28th minute of the match, but it proved too little too less for them.
Real Madrid Player Ratings in their match against Manchester City
Thibaut Courtois 5
Was kept on his feet throughout the match due to the incompetency of the defensive duo of Militao and Varane. However, none of the goals was scored due to his fault. Made some good saves, otherwise the scoreline could have been even more embarrassing for Zinedine Zidane’s men.
Dani Carvajal 6.5
Had a positive influence on the side with his superb runs down the right-hand side. Came back and defended well too.
Raphael Varane 1
It was a nightmare for the Frenchman. He was forced off the ball by Jesus for the first goal while headed the ball in the path of the Brazilian for the second one. Looked horribly out of sorts.
Eder Militao 3
Brought in to replace Ramos, Militao showed that he has miles to go before he can even think of replacing the Spaniard. He succumbed to the pressure put on him by the Manchester City forwards and looked equally out of sorts as his partner Varane.
Ferland Mendy 6
Looked shaky in the initial stages, but got better as the match progressed. Opened spaces in the opposition defence, but could not deliver the end result.
Casemiro 4
It was an uncharacteristic performance from the Brazilian as he gave away the ball quite a few times in the middle of the pitch. Made a fine tackle in the box to stop Sterling in his tracks though.
Luka Modric 5
Nothing much on offer from the veteran other than a few occasional bright sparks throughout the match.
Toni Kroos 5
Was not one of his better performances as he failed to marshall the midfield.
Eden Hazard 4
He looked miles away from recovery as of yet and could barely get past Kyle Walker.
Rodrygo Goes 6.5
Looked good on occasions. Delivered a brilliant ball to assist Benzema for Real’s only goal of the match.
Karim Benzema 7
Tried to make space to get the shots away but was not allowed much room by Fernandinho. Scored from a brilliant header, but it proved futile to get Real through to the next round.
Substitutes
Marco Asensio 4
Didn’t get much of the ball after coming on for Rodrygo.
Lucas Vazquez 4
Was left with nothing much to do after he came on for Carvajal.
Federico Valverde 5
Looked lively in the midfield on occasions.
Luka Jovic NA
Did not get enough time to be rated.
