Alvaro Arbeloa hails Federico Valverde as 'everything a Real Madrid player should be' after hat-trick masterclass against Man City

In the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappe, it was Valverde who stepped up to make the difference for the home side with a historic hat-trick to secure a 3-0 win in the first leg of the round of 16 tie. After seeing the Uruguayan complete the treble in just 22 minutes, Arbeloa described him as the ultimate benchmark, stating: "It doesn't matter where you put him, for me he's the Juanito of the 21st century, he's the benchmark, everything a Real Madrid player should be is Fede Valverde."

Reflecting on the result, Arbeloa noted that the scoreline was "better than expected" following recent criticism after disappointing losses to Getafe and Osasuna. They could have ended the evening with a four-goal lead, only to see Vinicius Jr see a penalty saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. 

Asked about the miss, Arbeloa said: "I liked the reaction of the Bernabéu, how they applauded Vinicius, if anyone recovers from setbacks it's him."

Arbeloa detailed how the team neutralised Pep Guardiola’s side by closing down passing lanes and waiting for the right moment to strike. "We knew very well how City plays, how Pep plays, what he always looks for," he explained. "We closed down lines of space, of passes, they look for you to jump and look for the back of you but we knew that if we waited for them, turned and looked for the back of them we could hurt them."

The victory came with a cost, as Arbeloa confirmed Ferland Mendy's injury after seeing the Frenchman go off at half-time, with Fran Garcia taking his place.

"It doesn't look good. We appreciate his effort; it's a risk to give him two games after so much time out, it wasn't the best thing to do," he added.

On a more positive note, he hailed the impact of academy graduate Thiago Pitarch. "We have to value the youth academy players, who didn't cost 30, 40, or 50 million, but they are lads who feel Real Madrid," Arbeloa stated with pride.

Despite the three-goal cushion, Arbeloa warned his players against complacency ahead of the second leg. "If there's one thing that's still a long way off, it's qualification. I've told the players, this isn't finished," he cautioned. Respecting the quality of the opposition, he added: "We know the team City has and what a great coach Pep is. I'm sure there will be more surprises in the second leg."