Real Madrid needed a goal from Fede Valverde because the statistics said they never lost when the Uruguayan scored: 32 wins and two draws. They needed one, but the "Bombazo," as he is called in the dressing room, dared to score three against Manchester City in 45 minutes. A historic performance that few players in football history can boast of: only Messi, Lewandowski, and Haaland had scored three goals in a knockout match in the Champions League. Not even Cristiano Ronaldo, the King of European Kings at Chamartín. Valverde made the unpredictable his own.
In Real Madrid's history, only three players had scored three goals in the first half of a Champions League match, although none in the knockout phase: Rial against Antwerp in 1957, Puskas against Benfica and Feyenoord in 1962 and 1965, and Mbappé against Olympiacos this season. No one else until Valverde, who had never scored a hat-trick before.
"The signed ball will be for my children. One dreams of nights like this. Surely it's my best game, especially in terms of goals. I enjoyed a lot today; it's been a while since I enjoyed a match like this. I'm happy, I'm joyful, but above all for the team's victory. If we all work together, we can achieve great things. Thanks to the people who support us even in a difficult season," reflected the Uruguayan.
It was an apoteotic first half in which Madrid came out fighting following Thiago Pitarch's lead. "He's a kid, but he bites," sources from the white team admitted to this newspaper on Tuesday. Those constant runs from the academy player infected a team that seemed dead in recent weeks and drove the best performance of Madrid throughout the season.
Valverde's goals were the result of the pressure and verticality of Arbeloa's Madrid, which benched Gonzalo and Camavinga to bring in Brahim and Pitarch. "Thiago won't hide; he'll want the ball," the coach warned before the match.
"We had practiced a lot on goal kicks, knowing they would press one-on-one. We are fast upfront, and we took advantage of it," admitted Valverde.
On the other side, Guardiola, who had promised a lineup "without surprises," opted for four forwards to attack rather than defend. And he paid for it. Madrid grew by biting in transitions.
That's where Valverde appeared, exploiting the space in all three goals, celebrating with rage towards the crowd for each one, pumping his fists three times, as he always does, and echoing Benzema's hat-tricks in 2022, the only ones by a player wearing the armband at Madrid.
At halftime, Mendy stayed in the dressing room due to some discomfort. "A cramp," they said at the white team, which, combined with the time without playing, made Arbeloa not take risks.
Towards the end, Tchouaméni and Valverde felt different discomforts but stayed on the field while Guardiola tried to stay alive in the tie. The Catalan waved his arms when Donnarumma saved Vinicius' penalty and covered his face when Courtois prevented O'Reilly's goal. Desperate, he ended up substituting Haaland and suffered his worst defeat at the Bernabéu in 13 visits. "It wasn't a 3-0 game. We didn't play that badly. In the first half, they had three chances and scored three goals," he insisted in the press room.
Since 2020, Madrid has eliminated City in three out of five encounters. We'll see if the sixth one comes in a week.