HOW far and how fast the mighty have fallen.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, the dominant force in English football and a major European powerhouse for so long, are now not even close.
GettyKylian Mbappe opened the scoring after just four minutes with a clever lofted finish[/caption]
PAHe then sat down Josko Gvardiol for the second[/caption]
ReutersTNT Sport commentator Darren Fletcher said Gvardiol would ‘need a ticket to get back in the stadium’[/caption]
GettyMbappe then completed his hat-trick as the holders progressed[/caption]
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Whenever they travel away to face an elite team, City are being hammered – at Liverpool, where the 2-0 scoreline flattered them immensely, at Arsenal where they were trounced 5-1. They were soundly beaten at Juventus and Paris St Germain too.
And here in the Bernabeu tonight, they were taunted, tormented, toyed with and ultimately humiliated – the mocking ‘oles!’ of Real Madrid’s supporters ringing in their ears as Carlo Ancelotti’s men ran rings around them.
On the eve of this match, Guardiola claimed he had been joking when he said City had only a ‘one per cent chance’ of overturning their 3-2 first-leg deficit.
Well, within four minutes, those odds looked spot-on, after Kylian Mbappe had lobbed Ederson on his way to a high-class hat-trick.
This was billed as the latest installment in an epic rivalry, played out annually in the Champions League knock-out stages.
It was talked up as a bitter grudge match, especially after Real had boycotted Rodri’s coronation as winner of the Ballon d’Or – and City had responded with a vast banner of their injured midfielder kissing his golden ball before last week’s first leg.
But it was no epic. There was no need for any needle. It was a mismatch, a total eclipse of the Blue Moon.
And so City have failed to reach the last-16 of the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.
Their only hope of silverware this season is in the FA Cup, where a fifth-round home tie against Plymouth no longer looks like a gimme.
They may have improved since a horrific run of one win and nine defeats in 13 games before Christmas but, despite a £175million January transfer-window trolley-dash, there have been no quick fixes.
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The winner of this annual tie has gone on to be crowned champions of Europe in each of the past three seasons.
And you wouldn’t bet against Real continuing that trend after witnessing this evisceration.
Erling Haaland was only deemed fit enough to start on the bench after jarring his knee in the 4-0 hammering of Newcastle – the first time he hadn’t started a Champions League or Premier League game this season.
But Omar Marmoush was bang in form, having bagged a hat-trick on Saturday.
Kevin De Bruyne was benched, testimony to the Belgian’s waning powers, rather than the old chestnut about Guardiola ‘over-thinking’ his team selections in the Champions League knock-out stages.
The scratches on the City manager’s head have made the workings of his hyperactive mind all too apparent.
After City had taunted Real with that Rodri banner before last week’s first leg, there was no tit-for-tat tifo spat.
A rumoured banner which warned City ‘You Won’t Get Out Alive’ failed to materialise. But, in footballing terms, it would have been spot-on.
The Madridistas kept it simple, belting out their anthem and creating a wall of sound beneath the roof of the full-refurbished Bernabeu.
Then it was over to their team – who took only four minutes to double their aggregate lead.
Raul Asencio played a diagonal ball over the top and Mbappe sprinted clear of Ruben Dias, with John Stones failing to make a challenge before the Real striker lobbed a stranded Ederson – a goal which was as simple as it was clinical.
For the second time in five minutes of football during this tie, City’s Brazilian keeper had been stuck in no man’s land for a Real goal – after Jude Bellingham’s injury-time winner at the Etihad.
Mbappe started whipping up the crowd and almost instantly it was worse for City when Stones was forced to limp off, replaced by Nathan Ake.
It was shaping up like an old-school 4-4-2 for City with Savinho up top alongside Marmoush. Guardiola’s back-to-basics approach never looked remotely like working.
The idea of playing the rookie Abdukodir Khusanov at right-back against Vinicius Junior was certainly a bold call – Vini and Bellingham seemed to be taking it turns to tease the young Uzbek.
Ilkay Gundogan, one of several City players to have lost a yard of pace, was booked for just that reason, as he tripped Rodrygo.
GettyCity only hope of silverware now comes in the FA Cup[/caption]
It was quiet in the cauldron. Real were in cruise control. This didn’t possess the jeopardy of many recent meetings.
But then the fab four decided to turn it on – Real’s famous attacking quartet combining for the killer second.
Bellingham kicked it off with a wicked turn and pass for Vinicius. His pass was under-hit, yet Rodrygo was still able to tee up Mbappe.
The Frenchman looked crowded by City defenders, yet one swivel sent Gvardiol for an early half-time Bovril and he drilled past Ederson.
This was the sort of high-quality team goal City would so often inflict on opponents in their pomp, yet here they were on the receiving end.
Real continued to strut their stuff and Mbappe’s hat-trick goal arrived on the hour.
Ancelotti’s men were stroking it around imperiously before their centre-forward cut inside Phil Foden and whipped a shot low into the far corner.
After 76 minutes, Foden produced City’s first shot on target, which Courtois comfortably saved.
In injury-time, feeble City finally mustered a response – Nico Gonzalez tapping home after a Marmoush free-kick had come back off the bar.
By then, Mbappe was then long since been withdrawn, to a thunderous reception, afforded a nice little breather.
City couldn’t touch him. They weren’t even close.
RexPep Guardiola watched his side not even lay a glove on Real[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
