In the buildup to the Real Madrid vs. Manchester City game, there was a minority that thought Alvaro Arbeloa’s side would gain an edge over Pep Guardiola’s team in the first leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. In fact, the majority had the right to believe that the current Real Madrid side is not capable of matching the elite teams in Europe.
The atmosphere surrounding the team — injuries that never stop, and some players underperforming — were all factors that contributed to forming such
a belief. On one hand, the majority were allowed to think as they did because of the facts they had in front of their eyes. On the other hand, Real Madrid met the expectations of the minority who were positive.
In the buildup to the clash, Vinicius Junior appeared to be Los Blancos’ savior and the most reliable cog to pull off something against the Citizens. As a reaction, Pep Guardiola proceeded by introducing Abdukodir Khusanov at the right-back spot to match Vinicius Junior in pace and power and limit the Brazilian’s effect.
However, Alvaro Arbeloa came up with other alternatives. Federico Valverde was the secret, and the main champion against Manchester City. The Uruguayan acted as an extra defender, a target for long balls, and a forward attacking space.
Defensively, Federico Valverde was tasked with plugging the gap between Antonio Rudiger and Alexander-Arnold and keeping close tabs on Nico O’Reilly down the left half-space:
Or, he swapped positions with Thiago Pitarch to join Arnold and double up on Jeremy Doku and restrict his ability:
At the start of the game, the Belgian winger was running riot down the left side. Defense isn’t Arnold’s best attribute. So, Doku took advantage of every space between him and Arnold to drive forward and access cutback zones. Or, he set up teammates behind Real Madrid’s backline.
Here, despite Valverde and Arnold doubling up on Doku, he capitalized on the English right-back’s slow lateral shift to drive at him.
In the meantime, Bernardo Silva joined the left half-space with O’Reilly, overloading Thiago Pitarch. Hence, Doku released O’Reilly near the byline to send the cross:
Manchester City’s game plan revolved around getting Doku in 1v1 situations against Arnold. In this instance, Rodri spots Valverde’s high position and quickly feeds Doku to isolate him against the English right-back:
The space between Doku and Arnold is enough for the former to drive toward the latter, push him backward, cut inside, and change direction once Arnold orients his body toward the inside.
That serves Doku to attack the byline and look for the cross. However, Valverde’s recovery run enables him to block off Doku’s delivery:
After the first fifteen minutes, Arbeloa switched Valverde and Arnold’s positions. The result was as follows: Valverde wasn’t an easy prey for Doku:
Valverde’s positioning down the left half-space neutralised Manchester City’s players’ runs behind the backline. To elaborate, here, once the ball went backward to Rodri, Valverde instantly changed his body orientation, with a half-turn position facing the right flank. That enabled him to track Bernardo Silva’s run and keep the ball in his sight:
In possession, it was expected that Real Madrid would heavily rely on Vinicius Junior’s individual brilliance. Nevertheless, Alvaro Arbeloa put Federico Valverde as the protagonist of the story.
When Real Madrid relied on Courtois’ long launches. Arbeloa counted on Valverde to be a target man. Valverde won three out of his five aerial duels in the game. In the below scene, Valverde towers over O’Reilly, heading the ball back inside, with Pitarch pouncing on the second ball. That allows Real Madrid to work the ball to Vinicius Junior and drag Manchester City’s lines deeper, generating space at the edge of the box for Tchouaméni to shoot:
Two minutes later, Courtois clipped the ball over the top into space behind the Citizens’ backline. Valverde beat O’Reilly for the knockdown and embarked on a sprint to dribble past Donnarumma and finish from an angle:
Before the second goal, Real Madrid exploited Manchester’s shambolic structure out of possession. After picking up the ball, Courtois immediately fed Ferland Mendy near the touchlines. With Brahim Diaz and Arda Güler dropping deeper, Los Blancos generated a four-versus-two situation. Diaz collected the ball and scampered forward to pick out Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian cut in the space between the lines. Meanwhile, Valverde timed his run after O’Reilly had checked his shoulders to exploit his blind spot. Additionally, Valverde darted behind Marc Guehi’s back to receive Vinicius Junior’s through ball, opening for himself an angle to send the ball toward the far post zone and add the second goal.
The third goal came from similar dynamics. Courtois collected Doku’s cross and quickly picked out Brahim Diaz on the left side. Manchester City was in utter disorder. The Moroccan international prodded the ball onto Vinicius Junior between Dias and Khusanov. The Brazilian escaped City’s right-back, penetrated the box, and found Arda Güler in zone 14:
The hosts worked the ball down the right half-space, where Brahim Diaz and Pitarch attracted four of City’s players. In the meantime, Valverde dashed between the Citizens’ center-backs. Brahim Diaz chipped the ball to Valverde, who dribbled past Guehi and guided the ball home.
In counterattacks, Manchester City’s subpar rest defense supplied Real Madrid with space to exploit. Moreover, Nico O’Reilly’s advanced position paved the road for Valverde to gallop the length of the pitch.
Below, Tchouaméni clears Semenyo’s cross into Vinicius Junior. The latter escaped Rodri and Semenyo’s pressure, whereas Brahim Diaz distracted Marc Guehi down the central channel. As a result, Valverde is free to receive Vinicius’s pass and carry forward. After passing the ball to Brahim Diaz, Valverde proceeds with a run, pushing Guehi backward. That isolated Diaz against O’Reilly near the touchlines and gave him space to advance after taking on his man. Brahim Diaz infiltrates the box, dribbles past Guehi, and pulls the trigger. However, Donnarumma saved the Moroccan’s shot.
Alexander-Arnold summarized Federico Valverde’s stellar performance in his post-match interview: “I think he is undoubtedly the most underrated footballer on the planet. When you play with him, you understand how much he gives to the team: he covers every blade of grass, he gives his all.
“As a player, the best attribute you can have is that your team-mates can always count on you and he’s always there — he never lets us down. Maybe people will start talking about it now, but for many years he’s been in that top bracket of midfielders.”
Federico Valverde unexpectedly burst into the scene and banked a hat-trick to give Real Madrid a push before traveling to Manchester. In fact, that is a part of the whole reality. Valverde embodied what he said previously, that he will run until his legs explode. He covered for his teammates out of possession and provided Arnold and Carvajal with defensive support against one of the best wingers in the world. Additionally, he bossed the aerial duels against Nico O’Reilly when Real Madrid opted for long balls in the buildup. Moreover, his runs exposed the spaces behind Manchester City’s backline.
