Manchester City 2-1 Real Madrid (4-2 agg): Player Ratings as Guardiola's men dump Los Blancos out | UEFA Champions League 2019-20

Gabriel Jesus had a goal and an assist as Manchester City booked a spot in the quarters
Gabriel Jesus had a goal and an assist as Manchester City booked a spot in the quarters

Manchester City made it through to the quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the second leg of the Round of 16 tie at the Etihad Stadium. That meant Manchester City won the tie 4-2 on aggregate, as a torrid night for Raphael Varane ended in calamity for Real.

The French centre-back gifted both goals to Manchester City, with some slack play at the back which was suitably punished by Raheem Sterling first, and then by Gabriel Jesus midway through the second.

Karim Benzema gave Real hope with a superb header midway through the first half to level the tie on the night, but it just wasn't to be for Zinedine Zidane's side.

Manchester City now go on to Lisbon, where they will play Lyon in the quarterfinal, before a potential semifinal which could be against Bayern Munich or Barcelona should they qualify from their Round of 16 ties against Chelsea and Napoli respectively.

Here's how each player fared on the night at the Etihad Stadium.


Manchester City Player Ratings

Ederson - 7/10

The Brazilian produced a couple of fine saves to deny Benzema and Modric in the first half. As the game wore on, Real couldn't test him often enough or effectively enough.

Kyle Walker - 8/10

A sensational performance from Walker, who overpowered Eden Hazard on the flank, with his pace and strength. He was also a constant threat going the other way, as his pace on the overlap (and underlap), was a constant menace for Ferland Mendy.

Fernandinho - 7/10

He looked as assured and composed as his partner Laporte did. It's often been said that the biggest role for Laporte's partner would be to not make silly individual errors. Fernandinho didn't, as he kept things simple and kept the ball rolling.

Aymeric Laporte - 7/10

Started a touch shakily, as Benzema turned him and got a shot away for Ederson to save. But he grew into the game magnificently, and got the better of Real's French striker.

Joao Cancelo - 7/10

The Portuguese was one of Manchester City's best and most consistent outlets on the night. He was a constant source of penetration down their left flank, and even had a shot well saved by Courtois. He should've defended better in the build-up to the Real Madrid goal.

Rodri - 6/10

Rodri was the least impactful of Manchester City's midfielders on the night. He was also lucky that he wasn't suitably punished for giving the ball away in dangerous areas on a couple of occasions.

Ilkay Gundogan - 7/10

In the less glamorous of the two advanced midfield roles in this Manchester City side, Gundogan once again thrived under the radar. He didn't let Modric get into any kind of rhythm, and pressed Casemiro with energy and intelligence to drive mistakes out of them.

Kevin De Bruyne - 9/10

Majestic. Bow down to thee, Kevin! He did everything you expect De Bruyne to do - penetrative passing, superb switches of play, energy in pressing in the midfield, taking shots at goal, even trying (twice!) to catch Courtois out directly from a corner. He played a pass to Sterling early in the second half, which the Englishman should've finished, that is worthy of being played on loop for hours on end.

Raheem Sterling - 7/10

On another day, Sterling could have easily had a hat-trick with the number of chances he had. He was gifted his goal after Jesus robbed Varane to put it on a plate on him. That said, his finishing on the day left a lot of room for improvement.

Phil Foden - 6/10

Starting in the false 9 role, Foden was excellent through the opening exchanges, as he linked up cleverly with Jesus, Sterling and De Bruyne. However, as the game wore on, his influence waned and he was replaced by Bernardo Silva.

Gabriel Jesus - 9/10

Another outstanding performance from the Brazilian, whose desire and closing down extracted both the mistakes out of Varane. He put the first goal on a plate for Sterling, but the second goal was a thing of beauty, even if it was gifted. With Courtois rushing at him, to get the kind of connection he did, and place the dink as well as he did was sensational.

Manchester City Substitutes

Bernardo Silva - 6/10

He should've had a goal after being put through by De Bruyne but took a touch too many and was closed down.

David Silva - 6/10

In his last game at the Etihad Stadium, the Manchester City legend could've signed off with a majestic free-kick, but that just grazed the top of the wall.

Nicolas Otamendi - 5/10

The Argentine replaced Rodri in injury time for Manchester City.

Real Madrid Player Ratings

Raphael Varane endured a torrid time at the back
Raphael Varane endured a torrid time at the back

Thibaut Courtois - 7/10

There was nothing he could have done about the two goals after getting completely sold down the river by Varane. But he made several crucial saves throughout the game to keep the scoreline respectable.

Dani Carvajal - 5/10

Jesus in the first half, and Sterling in the second, gave Carvajal a right run-around. He did make a couple of goal-saving interventions though, like the last-ditch tackle on De Bruyne in the second half.

Raphael Varane - 1/10

For a player as senior as him to make the kind of mistakes he did in those situations is inexcusable. There's not much left to say for Varane, other than that he terribly, terribly missed his captain being alongside him.

Eder Militao - 4/10

Whether it was an instruction from Zidane or of their own doing, Militao and Varane insisted on playing the ball out of the back instead of going long. That brought their downfall, as City pressed with vigour and verve. The Brazilian always had an impossible task of filling Ramos's boots for this game, but it was his partner who made Real feel the Ramos absence more than him.

Ferland Mendy - 6/10

He generally defended reasonably well, but was poor going forward as he failed to have any influence on the game. Both Mendy and Hazard were fully taken out of the game by Walker.

Casemiro - 4/10

Awful display from Casemiro. He set the tone early with a sensational last-ditch tackle on Sterling but it was all downhill from there. His passing was a right old disaster. The Brazilian was lucky on at least three separate occasions that City didn't score after he gave the ball away needlessly.

Luka Modric - 5/10

The Croatian failed to make any big impact from midfield, as he looked overawed and overpowered by Gundogan.

Toni Kroos - 5/10

Starting on the left of the Real midfield, it was always going to be his job to contain De Bruyne. He didn't contain the Belgian, nor did he offer anything of his own to neutralise the threat going the other way.

Rodrygo - 7/10

Real just didn't get him on the ball often enough. When he did get the ball on the flank, and ran at Cancelo, he was causing problems. The run and stood-up cross for Benzema's goal was just a glimpse of what he could've done, if he had been given the ball more.

Eden Hazard - 2/10

Anonymous for most of the game. He never took Walker on, never tried the penetrative passes in the final third, and always took the safe options. That wasn't what Real needed from their big-money signing in a game as big as this one.

Kevin Benzema - 7/10

Once again, he was the main man for Real, and even in the midst of the shambles at the back, Benzema was causing City problems. His ability in the air, strength and link-up play were all on show, but he just didn't get enough support from those around him.

Real Madrid Substitutes

Marco Asensio - 5/10

He was brought on to replace Rodrygo, but had the same problem as the young Brazilian. Real just didn't get the ball to him often enough.

Lucas Vazquez - 5/10

He was brought on for the final ten minutes of the game, and barely had a touch of the ball as City looked to keep possession and kill the game off.

Federico Valverde - 5/10

He replaced Modric late in the game, and by the time he was on the pitch, the tie was done for all practical purposes.

Luka Jovic - 5/10

After replacing Hazard, he really didn't have a meaningful touch of the ball in the game.

Quick Links