Man City slump 3-0 to Real Madrid as Fede Valverde nets hat-trick

Manchester City face a difficult task in the Champions League after a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, where Fede Valverde stole the show with a first-half hat-trick. City began brightly, with Jeremy Doku causing problems down the left, but two strikes in seven minutes put Madrid in control early on.

The opener stemmed from Thibaut Courtois' long pass to Valverde, which left Nico O’Reilly exposed; Gianluigi Donnarumma rushed out but could only watch as Valverde rounded him and tucked the ball into an empty net. Valverde added a second after good work from Vinicius Jr, whose pass took a deflection off Ruben Dias, and completed his treble before half-time with a composed finish over Marc Guehi.

Guardiola introduced Tijjani Reijnders at half-time but the change failed to swing momentum.

Spain, Madrid

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