Pep Guardiola had asked his players to at least give the Santiago Bernabéu a fright; instead, they were the ones exposed to a terrifying truth, wearing a haunted, hollow look.
It is not just a Champions League campaign that is over, a Kylian Mbappé hat-trick sending Real Madrid through here; on the evidence of another dark night in this strangest of seasons, it is Manchester City. The side that Guardiola said was a machine for eight years is no more, small wonder he admitted he was lying when he gave them a 1% chance of going through: it was not even that high.
Written by Sid Lowe at the Bernabéu
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/19/real-madrid-manchester-city-champions-league-playoff-second-leg-match-report under the title “Mbappé hat-trick rips apart Manchester City to send Real Madrid racing through”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
