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