Manchester City took on Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Champions League has been an incredibly hard slog for both Manchester City and Real Madrid this season.
Both clubs were drawn against one another in the play-off round, with the chance to make the last-16 the prize for the winners.
Madrid got the better of Man City in the first-leg at The Etihad last week, after Pep Guardiola‘s side collapsed inside the final five minutes.
The pre-game ‘Rodri Tifo’ in the Man City home end only served to motivate Vinicius Junior and his teammates even more so than they were already.
So, heading into Wednesday’s clash with a one-goal deficit, it wasn’t looking good for Manchester City.
Things got even worse inside the first four minutes when Kylian Mbappe put Real Madrid 1-0 up on the night, and two clear on aggregate.
The Santiago Bernabeu is an unforgiving place when you’re not at your best, and the City players learned that the hard way tonight.
Mbappe put Los Blancos 2-0 up on the 33rd minute mark with a brilliantly taken goal. If the game wasn’t officially all over then, the Man City players clearly knew deep down that it was.
The France international superstar then made it 3-0 on the hour mark with a brilliant left-footed strike.
He really was unplayable tonight.
The game against Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid really was one to forget for Man City. The worst part about the performance was that it seemed like the players actually threw in the towel after 60 minutes. But how did we rate the players’ individual performances?
Manchester City player ratings vs Real Madrid
Here’s how we rated the City players’ performances out in Madrid tonight…
Ederson 6
He perhaps shouldn’t have strayed so far out of his goal inside the first few minutes when Mbappe put the home side ahead. However, he was powerless to stop the Madrid striker’s second. Made somne decent saves in the second-half.
Abdukodir Khusanov 4
The 20-year-old had an absolutely torrid night at the Bernabeu against Madrid. In fairness to him, he’s not the first player to have been ripped apart by Vini Junior and he certainly won’t be the last. Brighter days lie ahead for the Uzbekistanian.
John Stones 6
Stones experienced terrible luck once again on Wednesday night, when he was forced off after just eight minutes through injury.
Ruben Dias 4
The 27-year-old centre-back was at fault for Mbappe’s opener for Madrid, when he got caught flat-footed underneath the ball. He made it far too easy for the Frenchman. In fact, he was beaten time and time again by simple balls over the top.
Josko Gvardiol 6
The Croatian actually wasn’t that bad on the whole, but he did get completely embarrassed by Mbappe for Madrid’s second goal. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say, ‘you’re just too good’. And the French World Cup winner had all of City’s defenders on absolute strings.
Ilkay Gundogan 4
Gundogan just isn’t the player he once was is he. The harsh truth is that he isn’t good enough to be playing for an elite team anymore. The 34-year-old showed his limitations against Madrid, and his lack of pace and power has become a big issue for City. This was highlighted after he was booked for a late challenge on Rodrygo in the first-half.
Nico Gonzalez 5
The new signing was largely anonymous against Madrid. He may have been signed as cover for Rodri, but he’s miles off the Spaniard’s levels at this moment in time.
Bernardo Silva 5
The Portugal international worked hard throughout but he doesn’t seem to have the spark that he used to. He’s very much the same story with so many other Man City players right now – 5% off his best, and that makes a huge difference at this level.
Phil Foden 4
What on earth has happened to Foden this season? He really hasn’t got any excuses – he’s 24 and supposed to be in the prime years of his career. The City forward just hasn’t been at it this term in general, and Pep should consider dropping him for a few games.
Savinho 5
The Brazilian disappeared on Europe’s biggest stage tonight. Much like Khusanov though, he is still very young, so it’s hard to be too harsh on him. It was also a strange call by Pep to play him centrally, he’s far better suited to being deployed out on either wing. He had a brief stint on the right wing in the second-half and immediately showed what he’s capable of with a brilliant run from inside his own half all the way to the edge of Madrid’s box.
Omar Marmoush 6
The Egyptian, fresh off his hat-trick against Newcastle, toiled up front on his own against Carlo Ancelotti’s side for scant reward. He had next to no service and it was a really tough night all round for him.
Subs:
Mateo Kovacic 6
A very-much nondescript performance from the Croatian.
James McAtee 6
The young Englishman should have been awarded a penalty late on, but he struggled to stamp his authority onto the match.
Pep Guardiola can’t trust three Manchester City players anymore
As harsh as it may sound, there are certain players who have let down Pep time and time again recently.
The first one is Gundogan – he’s just not built for the frenetic pace of elite level football anymore.
Next up, and this might be controversial, is John Stones. The 30-year-old has been brilliant for Man City over the past five years or so, but he has one huge Achilles heel.
The former Everton man has missed an astonishing 182 days of action through injury since the start of the 2022/23 season (Transfermarkt).
And that torrid injury curse struck once again on Wednesday night. You know the best attribute a top level footballer can have? Availability, and Stones is severely lacking in that department.
Finally, Ruben Dias seems to have turned into somewhat of a weak-link for City.
Despite the fact that he’s just 27, Dias seems to have regressed badly this season. The Portuguese centre-back has lost a yard of pace, and he’s low on confidence.
Whilst he may return to his best in the future, tonight’s performance against Madrid was a sign that he is nowhere near the levels he needs to be at.
Manchester City were ripped apart by Real Madrid out in Spain in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and Pep Guardiola now has to lift his players for Sunday’s huge game against Liverpool.