13/03/2026

FRIDAY | MAR 13, 2026

Read

iPaper at Malaysian Paper

www.thesun.my Free access to iPaper PDF Download

app from the App Store or Google Play TM . Malaysian Paper or download

SCAN ME

SCAN ME

Malaysian Paper

Real’s Federico Valverde (centre) celebrates with teammates after scoring a hattrick against Man City during the Champions League R16 first-leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu yesterday. –REUTERSPIC

Man City have not much chance against Madrid but will always try: Guardiola Real uphill battle

P EP GUARDIOLA conceded his Manchester City side had “not much” chance but refused to rule out a dra matic fightback against Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16. City face a steep uphill task to reach the quarterfinals after Federico Valverde’s stun ning first-half hattrick propelled Real to a 3-0 win in the first leg of their tie at the Bernabeu Stadium yesterday. It could have been even worse for City had Gianluigi Donnarumma not saved a penalty from Vinicius Junior after the break. Guardiola said: “It is a bad result, we can not deny it. The first goal was not well defended and after that the quality they had with Valverde and the other players, it was a difficult result. “But obviously 3-0 is better than 4-0. We have six days. We will recover, go to West Ham, then with our people we will try.” Asked what chance City had, Guardiola added: “Now, not much but I’m not a guy to say we’re not going to try. “Now it is most difficult (moment) to live but our mindset is we will look (at) what to do better, try to be more active in the final third and we will try.”

ined Madrid to be underdogs, but Los Blancos played like a side who had found belief again. Valverde completed a first career hattrick before half-time with the best of his three strikes. Valverde neatly flicked Brahim Diaz’s pass over the helpless Guehi and then volleyed home with aplomb as the Bernabeu crowd roared in delight. Finally they saw a Madrid they recognised, dynamic and, above all, competitive. “(It was) incredible, you dream of nights like this,” Valverde told Movistar . “It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a game like this. I’m really happy but above all because the team won.” Man City’s top scorer Haaland was kept quiet all night, with Guardiola replacing him even while chasing a goal. Instead City’s best chance to pull one back fell to O’Reilly but Courtois made a stunning reaction save with his leg to deny him and secure a precious clean sheet. “The feelings we were getting from outside were not of much confidence in this team, we showed we’re Madrid and you can never count us out,” a proud Arbeloa told Movistar. – The Independent/AFP

“When you play against Real Madrid with the quality they have, you pay the price. “Now it feels really bad, now it feels really dark. Tomorrow is another day and for sure next week we will go to the game thinking we have a chance.” Madrid took the lead against the run of play when Courtois thumped a long ball down the pitch in Valverde’s direction. Nico O’Reilly misjudged it and the Madrid midfielder blazed through on goal. Donnarumma came out to try and stop him but Valverde nipped around him and rolled home in the 20th minute. Seven minutes later the Madrid’s captain struck again. Vinicius Junior fed the mid fielder who coolly drilled past Donnarumma to double the hosts’ lead. After a difficult first half of the season, consigned to playing at right-back mostly under Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa’s arrival in January has unleashed Valverde. The 27-year-old snatched a last-gasp win ner at Celta Vigo in La Liga on Friday and said that victory was one which had raised the team’s morale. It appeared he was grasping for optimism ahead of the City clash in which most imag

City had gone into the game as favourites due to Real’s inconsistent form in La Liga and lengthy injury list. Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo were among their big-name absentees. Despite the result, Guardiola felt there were positives to take from the performance. He said: “I don’t have the feeling we had a problem. I think we played quite a good game. “We got to the box many times and when you are able to do that, it means you have fol lowed a good process. “But we didn’t score and Real Madrid have always been very dangerous. We reached the byline many times – six, seven, eight times – so we’ve done a good job, we were just miss ing the detail. “I’m not saying Real didn’t play well but our game was not as bad as this result.” Captain Bernardo Silva felt City lost their early grip on the game. The Portuguese said on TNT Sports : “The environment we could not control and I think my team let the emotions change the game. “We felt comfortable and were finding the right spaces but after conceding the first one, we lost completely the control, we stopped controlling transitions and second balls.

theSun is published and printed by Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd (221220-K) of Lot 6, Jalan 51/217, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 03-7784 6688 • Tel (Editorial): 03-7784 6688 Fax: 03-7785 2625 Email: newsdesk@thesundaily.com • Tel (Advertising): 03-7784 8888 Email: advertise@thesundaily.com