MADRID (AP) – There was uncertainty among Real Madrid fans ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League game against Manchester City.
The team has a new and untested manager, but they have recently lost two consecutive league games and needed a last-minute change of direction to beat Celta Vigo last weekend.
Federico Valverde erased any doubters with a brilliant first 45 minutes, scoring a sublime hat-trick as Madrid won 3-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Valverde completed a quick counter-attack, evading goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a deft touch and scoring the opener 20 minutes later.
He ran onto a pass from Vinicius Junior and made it 2-0 seven minutes later with a low shot with his weak left foot.
The Uruguayan midfielder made a last-minute save from Brahim Díaz’s deft chip, flicking it over the outstretched legs of Marc Guehi and volleying past Donnarumma to make it 3-0 three minutes before half-time.
Home fans shouted his name as the team left.
“You dream of nights like this,” he told broadcaster Movistar, before adding that this was probably his best performance in all whites. “Tonight was fun. I haven’t enjoyed a game this much in a while.”
The win capped off a remarkable few months for the 27-year-old Uruguayan. Valverde has been a versatile and reliable figure for Madrid during this turbulent season, especially since the start of the year.
The injured Kylian Mbappé scored against City, while Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham made headlines.
But through it all, Valverde remained a solid and reliable presence in midfield or at full-back, missing just one Champions League game and one La Liga game all season.
For Alvaro Arbeloa, that reliability is invaluable. Even better news for the new manager is that Valverde appears to be at the peak of his form.
Valverde, by no means the most prolific goalscorer, stepped up with Mbappé and Bellingham out injured. All six of his goals this season have come since January.
“It doesn’t matter where I play him,” Arbeloa said. “He is a reference point. Fede Valverde is everything a Real Madrid player should be.”
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