Man City player ratings vs Real Madrid with two 4/10s as Haaland poor

CommentsSportopinionSimon Bajkowski Chief Manchester City Writer21:55, 11 Mar 2026Manchester City saw their Champions League hopes disappear for another year on another horrible night for them at the Bernabeu. Pep Guardiola picked an attacking team to take the game to Real Madrid but instead they were undone by three goals from Fede Valverde in an astonishing first 45 minutes.

Gianluigi Donnarumma gave away a penalty in the second half that could have buried City, but the keeper did get back to his feet to keep Vincius's spot-kick out. That will give City a glimmer of hope for the second leg, but they were unable to build on that by getting any goals back in Madrid.

An outstanding reaction save from Thibaut Courtois stopped a certain goal from Nico O'Reilly and City had nothing else to offer. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.

Donnarumma: Could possibly have done better on at least one of the goals and gave away the penalty, but a good save to keep City alive. 5

Khusanov: Started really well against Vinicius but lost his way and then couldn't reassert himself in the game. 5

Dias: Couldn't keep things together at the back, although he did try to push them forward in the second half. 5

Guehi: Probably his most uncomfortable night in a City shirt, struggling to stay on top of his game and beaten by Valverde for a goal. 5

O'Reilly: Exposed for the opening goal and struggled defensively all game. Improved in midfield but far from his best. 4

Rodri: Not a return to Madrid that he will remember fondly as he could not stop Real from bypassing City's midfield. 5

Silva: Wasn't great on set-pieces or corners and couldn't get on the ball to have an impact. 5

Semenyo: Willing to get on the ball and tried to make something happen in the final third, albeit his touch was loose. 5

Savinho: Didn't do much wrong and won a couple of free-kicks in dangerous territory but was sacrificed for the system at half-time. 5

Doku: Looked like he was going to have Alexander-Arnold on toast yet he was double-marked out of the game and made some poor decisions in the final third. 5

Haaland: Didn't offer anywhere near enough, and being taken off before the end tells its own story. 4

Reijnders (for Savinho, 46) Couldn't influence the game. 5

Cherki (for Semenyo, 70) Tried to make things happen. 6

Ait-Nouri (for Silva, 70) Some good, some bad. Booked. 5

Marmoush (for Haaland, 82) No time.

Not used: Trafford, Bettinelli, Nunes, Alleyne, Ake, Stones, Gonzalez, Foden