When Nico Gonzalez scored the winning goal in stoppage time on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola’s side, which was without key striker Erling Haaland, suffered a painful early exit without a hit.
After combining with his attacking partners to cut the English side open, French superstar Mbappe broke the deadlock with a lob in the fourth minute.
After a slow start to life at Madrid, the striker hit a low strike from the edge of the box to score seven goals in ten games.
“We wanted to win and go through because, for us, it was logical that Real Madrid would be in the last 16 of the Champions League”, Mbappe told Movistar.
“We know that at home, we are very strong, and we played as a team in the best way, and we made Madrid fans very happy”.
Mbappe has scored 28 goals this season, with 18 in his last 18 games across all competitions.
In the last 16 of the tournament, Madrid will face either Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico, a local rival.
One of Guardiola’s most illustrious teams never made it to the round of 16 for the first time in his distinguished career.
As has been the case for much of their campaign, City, who won the competition in 2023, were far from their best.
Before the game, Guardiola received bad news, with Haaland, who scored twice in the opening half, being named on the bench after suffering a knock over the weekend against Newcastle.
Antonio Rudiger, who was injured, was quickly replaced by Real Madrid, who was replaced with Aurelien Tchouameni in his preferred midfield position.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side started off almost flawlessly, leading the way in the opening moments.
After receiving a long pass from a young centre-back Raul Asencio, Mbappe shrugged off Ruben Dias and lofted the ball over City goalkeeper Ederson.
A few minutes later, John Stones hit the visitors in a second-guessing way, a further blow to the Premier League champions.
Mbappe netted his second in the 33rd minute after Madrid’s “fantastic four” star players combined. Jude Bellingham fed Vinicius, who rolled the ball across for Rodrygo, who nudged it to Mbappe.
The former Paris Saint-Germain forward slipped inside to prevent the flailing Josko Gvardiol from heading in the opposite direction and fired home shortly after.
Bellingham was only booked for fouling England teammate Phil Foden, who was then suspended for the final 16 first leg, and Madrid’s only blot on their copybook.
Just after the hour mark, Mbappe completed his hat-trick by scoring from the spot that opened up some space for City’s defense as the defense fought back.
The visitors pulled a goal back in stoppage time when Omar Marmoush crashed a free-kick against the crossbar, and Gonzalez rolled home the rebound, but it offered scant consolation.
With a battle to finish in the top four on their hands, City have lost 13 games in their final 26 games across all competitions. They next face Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday in a game that will cost them.
Source: Aljazeera
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