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Senior Writer, ESPN FC- Mark Ogden is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @MarkOgden_.
MADRID, Spain -- Kylian Mbappé sealed Real Madrid's 6-3 aggregate victory over Manchester City with a hat trick at the Santiago Bernabéu as the reigning European champions booked their place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
Real, seeking their sixteenth Champions League title, went into the second leg of the playoff with a 3-2 lead over the Premier League champions after last week's win at the Etihad. And with City forward Erling Haaland fit enough for only a place on the substitutes' bench, Carlo Ancelotti's team made easy work of the 2023 Champions League winners.
For City, their miserable season continues, and the club now have only the FA Cup as a realistic chance of silverware as they go into Sunday's clash with Premier League leaders Liverpool seventeen points behind Arne Slot's side. -- Mark Ogden
Mbappé delivers on the kind of night he dreamt about
Mbappé had already played in some big games for Real Madrid. There'd been two Clásicos and two Madrid derbies, and he faced Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Liverpool in the league phase. But this was his first big game. At Real Madrid -- where standards are higher than anywhere else -- that means a Champions League knockout tie, against another top club, ideally with a vibrant second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.
And tonight, Mbappé emphatically delivered. This is why he joined Madrid. Having previously experienced what can happen on a European night at this stadium -- Mbappé put Paris Saint-Germain ahead here in March 2022 before a second-half Karim Benzema hat trick sent Madrid through -- he's now on the other, happier side of the equation.
Mbappé's first-half performance against City was ruthlessly efficient. He needed just 14 touches to take five shots. Two of them were goals, with an xG (expected goals) of 0.73. And what goals they were. The first was lofted, unerringly, and first-time, over Ederson after Raúl Asencio's long ball.
The second came after a flowing move involving Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, before some nimble Mbappé footwork. In the second half, a deserved hat trick was completed, stepping inside to stroke a shot, left-footed, into the bottom corner. Those early-season doubts about Mbappé's adaptation feel an awfully long time ago.
His goal scoring record in Champions League knockout games is staggering: 24 goals since 2017, including tonight's hat trick. No player has scored more. That's why Madrid worked so hard to bring Mbappé here. And there'll be plenty more big nights to come. -- Alex Kirkland
Time catching up with Man City
The signs have been there for a while, especially during the worst season of Pep Guardiola's nine-year reign as Manchester City manager, but this dismantling at the hands of Real Madrid offered indisputable evidence that time has caught up with this City side.
City offered no resistance as Real cruised to victory, and Guardiola's side were as passive as perhaps ever before. But take a look at the squad on duty, and it is easy to see why this group of players -- a group that has won so much -- has come to the end of the line.
Kevin De Bruyne, City's talisman for so many years, is now 33, and injuries have taken their toll on the Belgium midfielder to the extent that he didn't even start this must-win game.
John Stones, 30, has spent 10 weeks on the sidelines due to various injuries this season and the England defender is now facing another spell out of the team after lasting just eight minutes in the Bernabéu before limping off with another injury.
And in midfield, the 34-year-old Ilkay Gündogan must have wished he never returned to City on a free transfer from Barcelona last summer after being left chasing shadows by his Real opponents.
Bernardo Silva, another 30-year-old, was also anonymous on a night when Real looked hungry, energetic and full of belief -- none of which applied to City.
The Champions League is always the true test of a top team, and City have been found wanting this season. They only just sneaked into the playoff round after finishing 22nd in the initial stage of the competition, and Real have now given them a brutal reality check. -- Ogden
Valverde is more than just a stand-in right-back
Carlo Ancelotti once jokingly said that Federico Valverde is the world's third-best right-back, after Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez. But maybe it's time to ask: was Carlo underselling it? Because make no mistake, the Uruguayan -- nominally a central midfielder -- is an outstanding full-back. He might just be a long-term candidate for the role at Real Madrid (as ESPN colleague Gab Marcotti has argued in the past) if he weren't so important in midfield.
Valverde's display against City, and some theoretically testing opponents in Savinho and Omar Marmoush, was effortless. One second-half tackle, diving in to dispossess Marmoush, got one of the biggest cheers of the night from the Bernabéu crowd. Valverde even recovered to make a technically perfect block of a cross -- arms behind his back to avoid any chance of a handball -- inside the area moments later. The once shy, soft-spoken Valverde is now one of this team's leaders, wearing the captain's armband with Carvajal, Vázquez and Luka Modric out of the side.
He's also endearingly modest. "We know I'm playing there because others are injured," he said prematch when asked about the challenge of filling in at right-back.
"I think I've done quite well. If I don't get opportunities in midfield in the future, I'll play at full-back!" -- Kirkland
Khusanov not ready for the big time
Abdukodir Khusanov has had a nightmare start to his Manchester City career since arriving from Lens in January, and it continued for the Uzbek defender against Real. Since having a debut to forget against Chelsea last month, the 20-year-old has found the going tough in the Premier League, and his confidence is clearly on the floor.
But with injuries hitting hard at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola had no option but to select Khusanov in his starting team against Real.
Khusanov is still a youngster learning the game and ordinarily wouldn't have been thrown in at the deep end to the extent that he has been since arriving at the club. But just imagine his mood at being tasked with the challenge of marking Vinícius and then having to deal with Mbappé when the hat-trick-scoring Real forward fancied a run down the Real left.
He also had to contend with Bellingham playing in his area of the pitch, but despite his workload, he was rarely helped out by his teammates. He needs time out of the team so he can adjust to the demands of his new club before his confidence is shattered beyond repair. -- Ogden
After a slow start, Madrid are back among UCL favourites
Madrid's performance in the league phase was underwhelming and unworthy of a team that had never failed to progress from the old group stage. Beaten by Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool and only a string of late wins -- against beatable opposition in Atalanta, RB Salzburg, and Brest -- secured a place in the playoffs. Madrid looked like a deeply flawed team, beset by injuries and unable to balance the twin demands of accommodating Mbappé, Vinícius, Bellingham and Rodrygo with maintaining a functioning defensive unit.
Just a couple of months later, it's a different story. Yes, the caveat: Manchester City aren't very good. And it would be unwise, therefore, to draw too many broad, sweeping conclusions. But some of the doubts about this Madrid side have been dispelled over these two legs.
The defence is much more solid, with Asencio improving all the time, alongside an already-fit Antonio Rüdiger. Valverde, as discussed above, is arguably an improvement on Vázquez at right-back. In midfield, Aurélien Tchouaméni might have put in his best display of the season against City on Wednesday, and Dani Ceballos continues to exceed expectations.
Most importantly in attack, the "Fantastic Four" are flying. Madrid's second goal, with all four forwards involved, was an example of what they can do. Mbappé looks a different player to the one who started the season, and both Vinícius and Rodrygo have tended to deliver in key Champions League games. The suspension of Bellingham for Madrid's round-of-16 first leg, after picking up a booking Wednesday, is the only concern. But you'd rather that suspension comes now than later in the knockout phase.
Overall, Madrid head into the last 16 back where they belong: among the favourites to win this competition. -- Kirkland
Haaland's fitness is a worry for City
Haaland wasn't fit enough to start against Real Madrid, but the Manchester City striker didn't even take part in the prematch warmup, so how bad is the Norwegian's knee injury?
That will be the question worrying City's supporters and also intriguing Liverpool ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash at the Etihad because the initial verdict from City boss Guardiola was that the knee injury sustained against Newcastle United at the weekend wasn't a concern.
Haaland was substituted late in the game against Newcastle after going down unchallenged before clutching his right knee. He looked visibly worried but was able to walk off the pitch following treatment, so Guardiola attempted to allay fears over the forward's fitness after the 4-0 win.
But having taken no part against Real, in a game City had to win after losing 3-2 in the first leg, means that there is an issue that Guardiola is worried about. Haaland was named as a substitute, perhaps as a last throw of the dice if the game was close in the final stages, but his failure to even warm up before or during the game has raised more questions than answers. -- Ogden