Arbeloa hails Valverde as 'everything a Real Madrid player should be'

Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa lauded Federico Valverde after the home side's 3-0 win over Manchester City, calling him the club's benchmark. With Kylian Mbappe absent through injury, Valverde produced a historic hat-trick in just 22 minutes. Arbeloa said: "It doesn't matter where you put him, for me he's the Juanito of the 21st century, he's the benchmark, everything a Real Madrid player should be is Fede Valverde." Arbeloa added that the scoreline was "better than expected" following criticism after defeats to Getafe and Osasuna.

Real could have led by four had Vinicius Jr converted a penalty, which was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma; Arbeloa noted: "I liked the reaction of the Bernabéu, how they applauded Vinicius, if anyone recovers from setbacks it's him." He outlined the tactical plan that stifled Pep Guardiola's side, saying the team closed down passing lanes and waited for the right moments to strike.

"We knew very well how City plays, how Pep plays, what he always looks for," Arbeloa explained.

Spain, Madrid

valverde, arbeloa, real madrid, manchester city, hat-trick, bernabéu, vinicius jr, donnarumma, pep guardiola, passing lanes