Champions League
Real Madrid 3-3 Man City: Player ratings as spoils shared in Champions League classic
Both Madrid & City had to come from behind in Tuesday's dramatic 3-3 draw
Foden, Gvardiol and Valverde all with truly sensational goals
Two sides meet at the Etihad next week for the return leg

By Tom Gott
Apr 9, 2024
Madrid & City battled to a famous draw
Madrid & City battled to a famous draw / Angel Martinez/GettyImages
Real Madrid and Manchester City put on one of the best Champions League games in recent memory with a sensational 3-3 draw on Tuesday.

Bernardo Silva fired City ahead inside two minutes but a Ruben Dias own goal and a quickfire strike from Rodrygo had Madrid in front ten minutes later.

Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol and Federico Valverde all produced utterly sublime goals in an all-action second half which ultimately left nothing between the two sides ahead of next week's return leg.

How the game unfolded
The game got off to an incredible start. Aurelien Tchouameni was booked for a foul on Jack Grealish inside the opening minute, and from the resulting free kick, Silva stunned Andriy Lunin with a quick strike that went through the Real Madrid stopper and into the back of the net.

City weren't ahead for long, however, With 12 minutes on the clock, Eduardo Camavinga's strike from the edge of the box took a huge deflection off Dias and left Stefan Ortega completely wrong-footed.

Seconds later and Madrid were 2-1 up. Rodrygo burst through on goal and his low strike was also deflected off Manuel Akanji, with the ball rolling agonisingly slowly over the line to flip the game on its head.

With fans now given some time to catch their collective breath, City started to control possession in search of their own equaliser, but Rodrygo nearly added a third as his strike from the edge of the box ended up flying wide of goal.

City tried to get things going but Madrid defended superbly and held their lead by the time the referee blew his whistle for the interval.

Jude Bellingham fizzed wide in the early stages of the second half before Vinicius Junior fired over Ortega's bar.

Foden sent a tame effort right into Lunin's gloves on the hour, marking City's first shot on target since the seventh minute of the game, but his strike moments later was pure class. With one touch to set himself, the Englishman unleashed an unstoppable rocket which went soaring into the top corner.

Not to be outdone, Gvardiol quickly pulled out a piledriver of his own, thumping the ball perfectly into the far corner to once again leave Lunin with absolutely no chance.

Forward came Madrid in search of another equaliser and it didn't take them long to find it. Vinicius' cross found Valverde, whose sweet first-time volley went roaring into the bottom corner to set up a fascinating final ten minutes.

Both sides tried to find that all-important goal but there would be no further highlights as City and Madrid battled to a fascinating draw.

Real Madrid player ratings (4-3-1-2)
Vinicius Junior
Vinicius ended with two assists / Diego Souto/GettyImages
GK: Andriy Lunin - 5/10 - Caught out for Silva's early goal but could do absolutely nothing about the goals from Foden and Gvardiol.

RB: Dani Carvajal - 6/10 - A really impressive first half but Carvajal's influence faded after the break as Grealish and Gvardiol started to tick.

CB: Antonio Rudiger - 8/10 - His battle with Haaland wasn't as comical this time around, but it was just as effective as last time. The German rarely looked concerned.

CB: Aurelien Tchouameni - 6/10 - Booked inside the first minute and is now suspended for the next leg. Managed his disciplinary tightrope quite well.

LB: Ferland Mendy - 7/10 - Really solid defensively but even flashed some glorious moments with the ball at his feet. Looked to be loving life on the left.

CM: Toni Kroos - 7/10 - Pulled the strings so effortlessly before being withdrawn in response to the third goal.

CM: Federico Valverde - 7/10 - Sensational engine and a gorgeous goal. Valverde put himself about from the first whistle until the last.

CM: Eduardo Camavinga - 7/10 - Quick passes and smart movement were key to Madrid's counter-attacking success.

AM: Jude Bellingham - 6/10 - Was usually swarmed by defenders and started to lose his temper when decisions went against him.

ST: Rodrygo - 7/10 - Seemed to be everywhere. Got himself involved in everything Madrid cooked up, including a smart finish to put his side ahead early in the first half. Shockingly withdrawn when Madrid went behind.

ST: Vinicius Junior - 7/10 - Took a while to wake up but Vinicius popped up with a crucial assist for Valverde's gorgeous equaliser.

Substitutes
SUB: Luka Modric (72' for Kroos) - 6/10

SUB: Brahim Diaz (72' for Rodrygo) - 5/10

SUB: Joselu (86' for Vinicius) - N/A

Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Fran Gonzalez (GK), Nacho Fernandez, Lucas Vazquez, Fran Garcia, Eder Militao, Arda Guler, Dani Ceballos

Manager
Carlo Ancelotti - 7/10 - Madrid were actually really impressive here and could have easily had four or five goals before Foden and Gvardiol started firing in thunderbolts from range. Not a lot you can do about that. Probably needs to explain why he took Rodrygo off though.

Man City player ratings (4-1-4-1)
Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva
A stunning strike from Gvardiol / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
GK: Stefan Ortega - 6/10 - Could do nothing about either goal in the first half but seemed a little nervous.

RB: Manuel Akanji - 4/10 - Just couldn't keep up with Rodrygo at all. Could do nothing about his deflection but it always felt like something like that was coming.

CB: John Stones - 6/10 - Spent a lot of time in midfield and was even spotted as a shadow striker at times.

CB: Ruben Dias - 5/10 - Helpless for his own goal but, like Akanji, struggled whenever Rodrygo started coming at him.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - 8/10 - A solid defensive showing which featured an unbelievable screamer to put City ahead.

DM: Rodri - 7/10 - Overwhelmed in the first half before really stepping up after the break. Helped drag his team back into the game.

RM: Bernardo Silva - 7/10 - A moment of genius to open the scoring in a pretty impressive performance that saw Silva constantly buzz around in search of possession.

CM: Mateo Kovacic - 6/10 - Found it really tough to get into the first half but worked alongside Rodri to help turn the game on its head after the break.

CM: Phil Foden - 7/10 - Didn't get as many touches as he would have liked but made the most of his time on the ball with a sensational goal.

LM: Jack Grealish - 7/10 - Struggled in the first half but created plenty of problems in the second once City actually got going.

ST: Erling Haaland - 4/10 - Was given no room to breathe by Madrid's back line and was hardly involved as a result.

Substitutes
SUB: Julian Alvarez (87' for Foden) - N/A

Subs not used: Ederson (GK), Scott Carson (GK), Rico Lewis, Sergio Gomez, Matheus Nunes, Mahamadou Susoho, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Oscar Bobb

Manager
Pep Guardiola - 7/10 - Got the first half all wrong but whatever he said to his players at half time should be studied. Turned things around without even making any changes.

Player of the match - Josko Gvardiol (Man City)
Related Topics
Real Madrid CF
Champions League
Manchester City FC
Jude Bellingham

Che Adams earns Southampton win over Coventry

Che Adams inspired Southampton to a 2-1 victory over fellow Sky Bet Championship promotion chasers Coventry – who missed a penalty.

Striker Adams claimed Saints’ opener after he had deflected in Kyle Walker-Peters’ blast before more decisively bagging a second – both after Haji Wright had missed a spot-kick for the visitors.

Jake Bidwell ended his year-long run without a goal to pull one back, but the hosts held on.

Southampton boss Russell Martin has all but waved the white flag on automatic promotion after two draws and a defeat since the international break and his side currently sit nine points behind the top two with six matches to play.

Coventry fall five points outside of the play-off places as they attempt to make up for their Wembley heartbreak last season.

The Sky Blues had won their previous two away games and since December 23, they had the most wins on the road in the Championship.

It was no surprise then when they started quickly and won a penalty inside 10 minutes when Flynn Downes fouled the underlapping Joel Latibeaudiere.

Wright stepped up, aiming to bag his fifth goal in his last four away games, but slipped on approach. His shot came back off the crossbar but would have most likely been disallowed anyway for a double contact.

It woke Saints up and after having a penalty of their own turned down, they went ahead in the 18th minute. Walker-Peters struck from 25 yards before it bounced off Adams’ back to beat Bradley Collins, with both claiming the goal.

There was no debate over the scorer of the hosts’ second 20 minutes later as Adams bundled in from a corner.

After David Brooks had been denied one-on-one, James Bree had drifted his delivery from the resulting set-piece to find Taylor Harwood-Bellis at the back post. He nodded to Adams who beat his defender by dribbling the ball on his head before thumping home.

Adam Armstrong almost added a third 90 seconds into the second half but Collins pushed his rasping shot wide.

Coventry had to wait almost an hour between shots and Callum O’Hare’s attempt to place one in the top corner from the edge of a crowded box failed to halve the deficit.

Substitute Fabio Tavares went closer when his crashing strike was deflected onto the roof of the goal.

Their perseverance finally paid dividends as Tavares’ sumptuous delivery from the right was side-footed on the volley at the back post by Bidwell – his first goal since January 2023 – but there was not to be an equaliser.