Manchester City were blown away in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) glamour tie at Real Madrid.
Los Blancos didn’t have Kylian Mbappe or Jude Bellingham around, but Federico Valverde’s stunning hat-trick still brought a 3-0 win that could’ve been bigger, had Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.6m) not saved a second-half penalty.
Dissecting this match from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective, it’s our latest Scout Notes.
RESULT
| Home | Away | Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | Manchester City | 3-0 |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| TEAM | CHANGES FROM FA CUP 5TH ROUND | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (+ MINS) | OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS (+ MINS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 7 | O’Reilly (90), Doku (90), Khusanov (90), Savinho (45) | Guehi (90), Ruben (90), Donnarumma (90), Rodri (90), Haaland (82), Semenyo (70), Reijnders (45), Cherki (20) |
HAALAND QUIET AGAIN
Back in Man City’s lineup after an FA Cup rest, Erling Haaland (£14.6m) underwhelmed once more.
The Norwegian failed to register a shot, though a close-range tap-in was snatched away by Antonio Rudiger. Scoring that would have altered the perspective. However, he came off goalless in the 82nd minute, touching the ball only 10 times.
Haaland hasn’t felt invincible since Gameweek 17, where just one of 11 subsequent appearances brought in more than six FPL points.
Combining form, a management of minutes and the probability of Blank Gameweek 31, it’s easy to see why many are tempted to sell him for the short-term.
WHY NO NUNES?
Above: The passing network of Man City’s starting XI, according to Statsbomb
Pep Guardiola’s recent usage of a 4-1-3-2 formation has worked well, where full-backs provide attacking width, and Nico O’Reilly‘s (£5.1m) talents get moved into midfield.
But Pep tends to overthink on big occasions, and Wednesday’s team selection certainly raised a few eyebrows.
“I wanted to be aggressive from the outside, the one-against-ones, especially Jeremy [Doku], who was outstanding. From the right, we struggled a little bit more.” – Pep Guardiola
Starting three wingers, he returned O’Reilly to left-back and played Abdukodir Khusanov (£5.4m) on the opposite side, rather than Matheus Nunes (£5.4m). The logic was fair, as Guardiola wanted a more defensive option to deal with Vinicius Junior.
“The only thing we adjusted was Khusanov in that area because with Vinicius Junior in that area, we want a guy who can control that.
“But the target is wingers to try to drop them, people in the middle, in the pockets to arrive close to the box, control to the second striker with experienced players, fast players behind, that was the idea.” – Pep Guardiola
But, three down since the 42nd minute, Nunes still wasn’t brought on at any point. The joint-seventh best FPL defender of 2025/26 has started all but one league match from Gameweek 6 onwards, racking up one goal and seven assists.
O’REILLY SHAKY AT LEFT-BACK
In his post-match press conference, Pep got prickly when asked about shifting O’Reilly back into defence.
Yet the 20-year-old misjudged a long Thibaut Courtois pass for Valverde’s opener, and looked more comfortable later on, in midfield. Indeed, O’Reilly almost scored a consolation when his close-to-goal tackle on Thiago Pitarch forced a brilliant reaction save.
The England international hobbled off with an ankle injury at Leeds United, which kept him out of Gameweek 29. He’s since played 90 minutes on successive occasions. So, will he even start on Saturday, at West Ham United?
ROTATION IN GAMEWEEK 30?
Perhaps Guardiola already sees this UCL tie as a lost cause, therefore ensuring a full-strength Premier League lineup. After all, he can’t afford to drop any more points after the disappointing 2-2 versus Nottingham Forest.
On the other hand, Man City beat Real 4-0 at home in 2022/23’s semi-final second leg. A turnaround is still possible. And there’s an EFL Cup final five days later.
Phil Foden (£8.1m) wasn’t used here, while maybe Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) starts in Gameweek 30 over Haaland or Antoine Semenyo (£8.3m).
That’s right, the latter has finally made his UCL debut – like Marc Guehi (£5.2m) – and could now be eligible to play Pep Roulette. A 70th-minute Madrid removal reduces the chances of that happening immediately, mind.
It was enough time to put two shots on target and play the ball across goal for that Rudiger clearance.
