What is it about this fixture that always seems to produce something special?

It was Federico Valverde who became the hero in this latest instalment of Real Madrid vs Manchester City — the 12th such meeting in the 2020s — with the Uruguayan scoring the first hat-trick of his career and one of the best-ever in the Champions League to put Alvaro Arbeloa’s team in full control of the last-16 tie at the Bernabeu.

Valverde put Madrid ahead in the 20th minute, sprinting onto a long ball from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, beating Nico O’Reilly to the knockdown and pushing it past Gianluigi Donnarumma before finishing from an angle. Courtois’ assist was his second of the season in the Champions League – meaning he now has more than Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo for Madrid this season.

Valverde’s second came seven minutes later, as he got on the end of a deflected Vinicius Junior pass and finished low with his left boot past Donnarumma. But the third in the 42nd minute was the pick of the night, with Brahim Diaz providing a delightful dinked pass for Madrid’s captain, who lifted the ball over Marc Guehi and slotted home. Cue widespread disbelief in the Spanish capital.

Madrid had a chance to make it 4-0 when Vinicius Jr was felled by Donnarumma in the area after a long ball over the top, but the Brazilian’s effort from the spot was saved by the Italy keeper. And Pep Guardiola’s side kept pushing, with Courtois forced into a fine save from point-blank range after 18-year-old Thiago Pitarch lost possession inside the area in the 75th minute.

Here, Dermot Corrigan, Sam Lee and Jack Lang analyse the key talking points from the first leg.

Breaking down one of the all-time great Champions League hat-tricks 

The opening quarter-hour of this contest was fast and frantic, but City looked the more threatening team and appeared to be taking control of possession and territory. Then Valverde produced one of the all-time great Champions League hat-tricks.

There did not seem much danger when Courtois sent a long ball forward towards Valverde out on the right wing. But O’Reilly misjudged the flight of the ball, and the Uruguay international’s perfect first touch sent him sprinting clear.

City keeper Donnarumma got his angles wrong — on UK broadcaster TNT Sports’ coverage, the pundits wondered if he could have simply put a hand out to stop the ball. Valverde showed tremendous athleticism and technical quality to get to the ball first and the 27-year-old guided it into the net.

The goal completely changed the mood in the stadium, with confidence surging through Madrid’s players and fans, and a feeling of deja vu for City — who have suffered plenty of similar sucker punches against Madrid in this competition in recent years.

Valverde seemed especially energised. After Brahim and Vinicius Jr led a counter-attack, he drove onto a deflected pass from the Brazilian and surged into the City box.

Few would have expected him to shoot so quickly on his left foot — which is usually just for standing on, as Donnarumma would have known. But the shot was sweetly struck and nestled in the far corner to make it 2-0.

Goal No 3 was — if anything — even more unexpected. Brahim’s chip into his path was really well measured, but there was still so much to do.

Full of belief, the Uruguayan produced a first touch to lift the ball over Guehi that was reminiscent of Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi, and then powered home the finish, without even letting the ball hit the ground.

Watching in the stands, the injured Jude Bellingham looked genuinely gobsmacked at that third effort from his team-mate.

Remarkably, Valverde also put in a major defensive shift, helping right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold against City winger Jeremy Doku, and also shepherding the 18-year-old Thiago Pitarch alongside him in midfield.

Part of the explanation was that Valverde — who struggled earlier this season to understand what previous coach Xabi Alonso wanted from him — has looked much freer and more confident under Arbeloa, who gives his players fewer detailed tactical demands.

But it was an incredible moment — and only you could only really explain within the context of a Champions League night at the Bernabeu, where anything seems possible for the men in white.

Dermot Corrigan

Did Guardiola’s selection backfire?

You could look at Guardiola’s starting line-up in two ways.

The first is that, even from the outside, you could see the logic in just about all of the selections. City played well at Newcastle at the weekend with a back three in possession. Picking Abdukodir Khusanov at right-back in Madrid allowed City to have that back three and kept a defender who is very fast and defensively astute on hand to battle Vinicius Jr.

Playing Savinho was probably explained by his bright showing at St James’ Park. Jeremy Doku, meanwhile, has been one of City’s best players this season and was their most threatening in the Spanish capital, so that makes sense. But picking Antoine Semenyo for his Champions League debut, considering he was a striker alongside Erling Haaland, was a head-scratcher, particularly as it robbed City of a third man in midfield.

Pep Guardiola chose an attacking line-up (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/ AFP via Getty Images)

Being charitable, this was an attacking team that could have really damaged Madrid, and that is how the first 15 minutes or so seemed to play out.

But then there was the other side of it. As much as most of those changes could be explained, they happened by Guardiola ripping up the formula almost completely. City have been using a box midfield with O’Reilly, Bernardo Silva and Rodri of late, and they make a formidable trio, but here O’Reilly was shifted to left-back and the other two were left without any help.

Matheus Nunes has always been picked when fit but was suddenly out and, despite Savinho being there to wreak havoc as he did at times against Newcastle, the Brazilian was rarely given the ball. When he was, he did not do much.

The energy that was evident from City early on was immediately stopped by Valverde’s first goal, and the direct threat posed by all of those forwards became stunted, with City looking a pale version of themselves.

Sam Lee

How important was this for Arbeloa?

This was a huge night for Arbeloa, by far his biggest and best since he took over from Alonso in January.

The former Madrid, Liverpool and Spain right-back came into this game under real pressure, with many around the Bernabeu already assuming the rookie manager was not going to last long, and a real fear of potential embarrassment against a City team coached by one of the all-time greats (and a Barcelona icon) in Guardiola.

Arbeloa was asked by reporters pre-game if he still believed Madrid could be favourites against City.

“You all know the Champions League is special for us, with our mentality, motivation and spirit,” Arbeloa said. “We’re Real Madrid, and no matter what the circumstances, we never feel inferior to anyone.”

This was a huge win for Alvaro Arbeloa (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Those words were met with some scepticism given Madrid’s last game at the Bernabeu was a 1-0 La Liga defeat to Getafe. But they were backed up by another of the great Bernabeu Champions League performances against one of their biggest rivals.

Arbeloa made plenty of big calls in his starting XI, including giving a start to teenage midfielder Pitarch, but it all went right for him. His man-management of some players has been questioned, but hat-trick hero Valverde is among those who have benefited a lot from the club’s change of course.

Madrid rode their luck at times, as they always do, with Courtois making a couple of fine saves. But part of being a Madrid coach is being able to feed into the mystique and magic of the club. Sometimes it just means getting out of the way, and letting that magic happen.

Dermot Corrigan

Should Madrid have punished City more?

Look, there comes a point at which football as a whole — the hive mind, the collective consciousness, however you want to think about it — really has to stop pissing about when it comes to Real Madrid and the Champions League. Man City, we were informed before this one kicked off, were odds-on favourites. Madrid’s team sheet made that look broadly reasonable; the recent form guide did likewise.

Reason, though, does not come into it when Madrid play in this competition. It’s not that there is something in the water; it’s that there is no water. It’s all something — potion, magic dust, dark matter. And you know what they love, more than anything? Idiots like you and me writing them off. Go ahead, punk. Make my day.

City know all this as well as anyone. They’ve been sucker-punched before. So even as they started well, Jeremy Doku fizzing a series of dangerous crosses into the six-yard box, the muscle memory must have been humming. And yes, then it all turned, just like it always does.

In the end, 3-0 was both a let-off and a let-down. Vinicius Jr could have put the tie beyond City’s reach from the penalty spot. At the same time, only stunning, last-gasp interventions from Antonio Rudiger and Thibaut Courtois maintained Madrid’s clean sheet in a slightly drifty second half.

Did City deserve a goal? Not really. If they are still in this tie, it is by their fingernails. They have to conjure something seriously special back in Manchester — and hope that Madrid’s arcane spell over Champions League has a vanishingly rare night off.

Jack Lang

What next for Madrid?

Saturday, March 14: Elche (Home), La Liga, 8pm UK, 4pm ET

What next for City?

Saturday, March 14: West Ham (Away), Premier League, 8pm UK, 4pm ET