Manchester City's Champions League campaign hangs by a thread after a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Pep Guardiola admitted his team's chances of overturning the deficit are 'not much' ahead of the second leg at the Etihad Stadium next week.

Federico Valverde's 22-minute first-half hat trick stunned City, with the Uruguayan scoring three goals in rapid succession. Gianluigi Donnarumma's penalty save from Vinícius Júnior offered City a glimmer of hope, but Guardiola's tactical gamble failed spectacularly. The City manager had promised a surprise lineup and delivered it, starting Jérémy Doku, Savinho, and Abdukodir Khusanov while moving Nico O'Reilly to left-back.

Guardiola defended his selections despite the heavy loss, questioning how many times O'Reilly had played left-back this season. He explained the tactical approach aimed to drop wingers into pockets and control Madrid's attacking movements. The 20-year-old O'Reilly's misjudgment of a long ball from Thibaut Courtois led to Valverde's opening goal, setting the tone for a disastrous night that has left City facing elimination from Europe's premier competition.