Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo has acknowledged the need for improvement after his side suffered a difficult night against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
The English side were beaten convincingly after a sensational performance from Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, who scored a remarkable first-half hat-trick to put the Spanish giants firmly in control of the tie.
Manchester City began the encounter with some confidence and managed to create a few early attacking moments that briefly unsettled the hosts. However, Real Madrid quickly took advantage of defensive gaps and punished City with ruthless efficiency.
Valverde opened the scoring after capitalising on a long pass from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The midfielder controlled the ball behind City defender Nico O’Reilly before rounding goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and finishing from a narrow angle.
Just minutes later, Valverde struck again with a low shot across Donnarumma to double Real Madrid’s advantage.
The Uruguayan then completed his hat-trick in style after receiving a delicate lofted pass. He cleverly lifted the ball over defender Marc Guehi before finishing on the volley to cap a memorable display.
Despite missing several key attacking players, including Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and long-term absentee Rodrygo, Real Madrid still showed their quality and attacking strength throughout the game.
Speaking after the match, Semenyo admitted that City struggled to deal with Real Madrid’s transitions and must now reflect on their performance.
“They are very good on transitions and the was a couple of spaces in the middle of the park and they exploited that.
“We just go back to the drawing board. I think the [defeat] brings us down to earth essentially.
“They are a good team. We just go back to the drawing board and do what we need to do and hopefully Tuesday, we can change it,” Semenyo said.
Real Madrid had an opportunity to extend their lead in the second half when Vinicius Jr was fouled inside the penalty area by Donnarumma.
However, the City goalkeeper redeemed himself by diving to his left to save the resulting penalty.
City also came close to scoring when O’Reilly seized on a loose ball inside the box, but Courtois reacted quickly to deny him with an important save.
With the tie now leaning heavily in Real Madrid’s favour, Manchester City will have to produce a major response in the return leg if they are to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
