Valverde achieves a feat that Ronaldo admires in the Champions League

By scoring a hat-trick against Manchester City, Real Madrid's midfielder Federico Valverde has entered a unique group that includes Lionel Messi but excludes Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League.

Real Madrid delivered an impressive first-half performance in their clash with Manchester City at the Champions League match at Santiago Bernabeu. Despite coach Alvaro Arbeloa's team facing significant squad challenges due to injuries, they produced a display beyond expectations. The standout was Federico Valverde as the Uruguayan midfielder scored a hat-trick within just the first 45 minutes, thereby joining a special list alongside Lionel Messi, while Cristiano Ronaldo is absent.

According to statistics from MisterChip, Valverde becomes one of the players to score three goals in the first half of a Champions League knockout match. Before him, this list includes Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland, and Anthony Gordon. Notably, Valverde is the only player in this group not playing as a forward.

This achievement becomes even more remarkable as it was accomplished against Manchester City, a familiar opponent for Real Madrid in the Champions League. The two teams have met 15 times in this competition with a fairly balanced record, each having five wins and five draws. In the first half, Valverde scored three goals at minutes 20, 27, and 42 through technical plays, clever feints, and sharp finishing ability.

That brilliant performance further reinforces the view that Valverde deserves to be considered one of the world's best midfielders currently. Up to this point in the season, Valverde has scored six goals for Real Madrid, including two in La Liga, one in the Spanish Super Cup, and three in the Champions League. This scoring streak has sparked much discussion due to its historic and unique nature, especially as Valverde joins the rare list mentioned above.

MisterChip also revealed another notable milestone. Valverde becomes the second midfielder in Real Madrid's history to score a hat-trick in the European Cup (the predecessor of the Champions League). The first to achieve this was Pirri in the match against AEL Limassol on September 18, 1968.

Additionally, Valverde also joins the very rare group of captains scoring a hat-trick in Champions League knockout rounds. Before him, the only one to achieve this feat was Karim Benzema wearing Real Madrid's colors in 2022 against PSG and Chelsea.

Valverde's performance also helped a teammate set an unprecedented milestone. With Thibaut Courtois's assist for Valverde's first goal, the Belgian goalkeeper becomes the first goalkeeper in Champions League history to provide two assists in the same season. Previously, Courtois also assisted Kylian Mbappe in the match against FC Kairat.