Manchester City were the favourites heading into their Champions League last 16 tie, but they have been blown away by Real Madrid.
There were high expectations for Manchester City on Wednesday night, considering the fact they were unbeaten for so long.
Real Madrid on the other hand have suffered recent defeats at the hands of both Osasuna and Getafe, with Barcelona leading the way in La Liga by four points.
Despite this, the Spanish side have had an exceptional night, with some serious quality on display.
However, Man City have not helped themselves out. From dreadful defending to a lack of imagination up front, the whole showing has been really poor.
Real Madrid had the game won in the first half
Man City had some decent spells on the ball early into the match, but Federico Valverde opened the scoring after sprinting free from Nico O’Reilly. The Uruguayan then rounded Gianluigi Donnarumma to deliver a very good goal.
It was Valverde who struck again seven minutes later with a diagonal effort which landed precisely in the bottom right corner of the net.
Things got even better for Real Madrid when the 27-year-old bagged a hat-trick before half-time as he took the ball over Marc Guehi’s head, scoring his best strike of the night.
Los Blancos could have taken a 4-0 lead in the second half when Gianluigi Donnarumma gave away a penalty for a foul on Vinicius Jr. However, the Italian saved the spot kick, making up for his error.
Pep Guardiola attempted to turn things around with some substitutions, but these made no difference as Madrid stormed to a 3-0 victory.
Man City need a big result next week
If Man City are to have any chance of making a dramatic comeback, they have to be much better at the Etihad Stadium.
Real Madrid had a host of injuries and City failed to take advantage when the odds were in their favour.
The tie is not over yet, but Man City will have to deliver an all-timer of a performance in order to remain in the Champions League.
