The first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at the Bernabeu stadium became Federico Valverde's private stage. Right from the 20th minute, the Uruguayan midfielder opened the score after an accurate pass from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Valverde calmly controlled, passed Gianluigi Donnarumma before putting the ball into the empty net.
Just 7 minutes later, the Real Madrid star continued to double the gap. From a good coordination with his teammates, Valverde launched a dangerous low shot into the near corner, causing the Man City goalkeeper to not have time to react.
The away team's nightmare did not stop there. In the 42nd minute, Brahim Diaz made a favorable assist for Valverde to complete a hat-trick with a neat close-range finish. In just the first 45 minutes, the Uruguayan midfielder made a historic mark with 3 goals, helping Real Madrid lead 3-0.
Stepping into the second half, the match was still tense when both teams were awarded penalties but failed to take advantage of them. In the 58th minute, Vinicius Junior missed a penalty kick when he could not beat Donnarumma. In the opposite direction, Nico O'Reilly also missed the opportunity to narrow the score when his penalty kick was blocked by Courtois in the 75th minute.
In the end, Real Madrid won convincingly 3-0 against Man City. With a 3-goal difference and Valverde's brilliant form, the Royal team is holding a very large advantage before the away trip to the Etihad stadium in the second leg.
