Real Madrid secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium, completing a 5-1 aggregate victory over Manchester City. Despite going down to ten men early on following Bernardo Silva’s red card, City pushed hard throughout — particularly in the second half.
Arda Güler was comfortably the best progressive passer on the pitch. He led all players with 16 progressive passes and posted two key passes, while accumulating 70 touches — placing him fifth overall.
His longball accuracy of 45.5% ranked fourth in the match, and Güler finished with the highest xT gain of anyone on the night at 1.277, underlining how consistently he moved the ball into threatening positions. He also picked up four ball recoveries, showing he wasn’t just involved going forward.
Dean Huijsen was the busiest player on the ball across both teams, registering a match-high 101 touches. The young centre-back also ranked joint-second in progressive passes with 11, and his pass completion sat at 94.4% — good enough for ninth among all players. Huijsen had the fourth-highest xT gain in the match at 1.073, a notable figure for a defender, and attempted one take-on.
Jérémy Doku was City’s standout performer and the most direct attacker on the pitch. He led all players with 5 key passes and 7 completed take-ons — more than the entire Real Madrid squad combined. Doku’s 61 touches included 47 in the final third, second only to teammate Rayan Cherki, and his xT gain of 0.947 was the highest of any City player. Despite the result, Doku gave everything going forward and was a constant handful throughout.
Rayan Cherki was arguably the most complete carrier in the match, leading all players with 18 progressive carries and 91 touches, while his 50 touches in the final third were the most of anyone on the night. Trent Alexander-Arnold topped the longball completion chart at 60.0% and posted the third-highest xT gain of 1.103 — impressive returns from a player operating in a more disciplined positional role. Aurélien Tchouaméni was similarly influential for Madrid, finishing second in xT gain at 1.136 alongside nine progressive passes, eight progressive carries, and six ball recoveries — a well-rounded evening from the Frenchman.
