Real Madrid completely outclassed by Manchester City to hand Zidane first Champions League exit

Manchester City advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League through a masterclass performance against 13-time champions Real Madrid. They won the second leg 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium last night and closed out the tie with a 4-2 aggregate scoreline.

Real Madrid knew they had a steep hill to climb after losing the first leg 1-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu back in February. However, they did not look like a team that needed to launch a comeback last night. In fact. it was Manchester City who definitely came out with all guns blazing just as Pep Guardiola had warned ahead of the match.

City controlled most of the game and kept the visitors under pressure whenever they found themselves with the ball. It was this pressure that led to the defensive mistake that gave City their first goal. Thibaut Courtois chose to pass the ball around with his defenders instead of clearing the ball away as quickly as possible. With zero support from the rest of the team, Varane was left vulnerable against a hard-pressing Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus picked the ball out from under Varane's feet to set-up a charging Raheem Sterling. After just 9 minutes, City found themselves with a 3-1 aggregate lead. The mistake should have forced Real Madrid to wake up. They did have a momentary glimmer of hope after Karim Benzema scored a brilliant header in the 28th minute.

The second half started out slightly better for Real Madrid. They managed to create a few opportunities in the first few minutes but soon fell into a lethargic pattern of standing around and watching as City continued to press hard. The Spanish giants lacked the sense of urgency of a team that needed to come from behind.

Real Madrid could barely approach Ederson's goal and if they did, he always rose to the occasion. After every Real Madrid attempt, City's players immediately made an effort to clear the ball and launch a counter attack. Soon, Varane was forced into another mistake as Jesus outplayed him again to score City's second goal of the evening.

Real Madrid truly missed their captain, Sergio Ramos, who could have provided stability in defence and a strong figure to lead the charge. Unfortunately, he had to miss out after being shown a red card in the first leg. The team could have also used the energy and speed of players like Vinicius Jr., who sat firmly on the bench for the duration of the match.

With last night's victory, Pep Guardiola is the first manager to oust Zidane (as a manager) in the Champions League. The Frenchman won three consecutive titles with the team in 2016, 2017 and 2018.