The king is dead. Long live the king.That’s the shortest description of the football spectacle we saw tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, as Real Madrid stormed to defeat and eliminate toothless Manchester City 3-1 (6-3 on agg) on the wings of the mesmerizing Kylian Mbappe.The French striker scored a hat-trick to seal a much-deserved win against once-mighty City, who are now just the shadows of their former selves.Real Madrid beat Man City and qualify to Champions League round of 16! ⚪️🫨 pic.twitter.com/HvCbrJumtF— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 19, 2025 The old wizard Carlo Ancelotti once again proved his class and tore Pep Guardiola and his football philosophy into pieces.After a 3-2 loss in the first leg, the Cityzens were hoping for some sort of a miraculous comeback in the capital of Spain but instead ended the competition properly humiliated. This is the first time since 2013 that the sky-blues won’t be in the Champions League last 16. And, quite honestly, they don’t deserve to be in that society after such a gigantic crumble as Los Blancos and impeccable Kylian Mbappe have shattered them.Kylian Mbappé Real Madrid 1 – 0 Man City pic.twitter.com/QxTff7VbRo— Ballon Rond (@ballonrondfc) February 19, 2025 Everything was over even before it started when the former PSG striker exploited City’s defensive flaws to put his team in front within the opening five minutes.It looked as if the tie was wrapped up at that exact moment, especially since Erling Haaland was out of this game due to fitness issues. With all due respect, Omar Marmoush is just not the forward of Haaland’s ilk and he couldn’t replace him against a side like Real Madrid.We had an impression that the visitors couldn’t hurt the defending champions, not if the game lasted for five more hours. While Mbappe, Rodrygo, Bellingham and Vinicius danced in the opposite half, Pep’s attacking midfielders and forwards – Savinho, Bernardo Silva, Foden and Marmoush – couldn’t get anywhere near Courtois. The fact that City scored their only goal of the game in the dying seconds of the stoppage time when everything was already long gone tells you how pale they actually were.VIP angles of Mbappe’s second goalpic.twitter.com/bGmZfg9EVe— Huz (@huzcw7l) February 19, 2025 After Mbappe added another one before the break, humiliating Gvardiol on the way, it was clear that Manchester City would be humbled tonight like probably never before.It took him just 61 minutes to seal the hat-trick, his first ever in the Champions League, thus kickstarting a massive celebration in the stands with thousands of Los Blancos fans chanting ‘ole, ole’ for every successful pass of their heroes.🚨🔵 Pep Guardiola: “Tonight the best team won, that’s simple. Real Madrid were the best team and they won, it’s deserved.” pic.twitter.com/ReYAiuybfx— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 19, 2025 Nico Gonazalez’s last-gasp goal didn’t change a thing on the pitch, with Pep Guardiola congratulating his older colleague Carlo Ancelotti on another coaching masterpiece.Carletto’s ship is on the way to another successful mission to glory. Pep, on the other hand, seems like a man whose ships have sailed. At least from Manchester harbour. It’s time to say goodbye.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – PLAYOFFS Return legWednesdayBorussia Dortmund – Sporting Lisbon 0-0 (3-0 on agg)Real Madrid – Manchester City 3-1 (6-3 on agg)/Mbappe 4,33,61 – Gonzalez 90+2/PSG – Brest 7-0 (10-0 on agg)/Barcola 20, Khvicha 39, Vitinha 59, Doue 64, Mendes 69, Ramos 76, Mayulu 86/PSV – Juventus 3-1 (4-3 on agg)/Perisic 53, Saibari 74, Flamingo 98 – Weah 63/
