Real Madrid player ratings vs Man City: Miserable Luka Modric display sums up sorry Champions League exit

The Croatian star looked lost in central midfield Carlo Ancelotti's side were overrun by their English hosts at the Etihad Stadium

Luka Modric went missing in the kind of match where he usually comes alive, while the rest of his team-mates didn't do much to help as Real Madrid were battered by Manchester City, with only Thibaut Courtois preventing a 4-0 scoreline from looking even uglier.

Courtois kept Madrid in the game early, keeping out an Erling Haaland header from point-blank rage with an instinctive save. He was at it again shortly after, lunging at full stretch to block another Haaland effort. But he could do little about City's opener: Bernardo Silva found himself unmarked in the box, and smashed his shot home from close range. The Portugal playmaker added a second before half-time, finding the far corner with a tidy header.

Madrid responded to some degree after the break, and worked their way into the game. But they never created a clear chance, and didn't do enough off the ball to prevent City from piecing together attacking moves of their own.

A third from the home side, this time a deflected header that brushed Eder Militao's shoulder, killed the game for good. A Julian Alvarez fourth in stoppage time turned it into a rout.

The loss could mark the end of an era of Champions League dominance for Madrid. And Modric, now 37, might just have seen his last big chance at European glory disappear into the Manchester night.

GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from the Etihad Stadium...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Thibaut Courtois (8/10):
Denied Haaland inside 15 minutes with a point-blank save. Stopped the Norwegian twice more. Couldn't do anything about the goals. Without him, this could have easily been 6-0 (or worse.)
Dani Carvajal (4/10):
Battered by Grealish all night long. Tired when substituted with 15 minutes to play.
Eder Militao (5/10):
Big call to bring him back into the XI after being suspended for the first leg. Had to be up for the fight against Haaland. Didn't do much to slow him down, and has his keeper to thank that the Norwegian didn't score three.
David Alaba (5/10):
Didn't give Camavinga much help as City tore apart his side of the defence.
Eduardo Camavinga (3/10):
Nowhere to be found for the City opener, rattled by Bernardo from the first minute. Looked entirely outclassed at left-back after a series of impressive performances over the last month. Not much better when switched to central midfield.

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Midfield
Federico Valverde (4/10):
Went entirely missing on the big stage, although he could have done with the senior members of the Madrid midfield helping him out.
Toni Kroos (4/10):
Missing on City's first goal, gave the ball away too often. Still completed his fair share of passes, but his defensive weaknesses were laid bare here.
Luka Modric (3/10):
Another Madrid player who looked rattled. Misplaced some of his passes, swarmed by City's press. Megged by Grealish in the second half, which pretty much summed it up. A miserable end to his last chance?
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Attack
Rodrygo (4/10):
Enjoyed some good touches and the occasional nice run. But should have done better in the final third in their rare counter-attacks.
Karim Benzema (3/10):
Didn't score in either leg, and looked short of ideas here. Had two shots, neither of which tested Ederson. Poor.
Vinicius Jr (5/10):
Made some runs in behind and tried to make things happen on the ball, but didn't get the requisite touches to make anything happen. Was mostly kept under wraps by the excellent Walker.

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Subs & Manager
Antonio Rudiger (6/10):
Brought on to play centre-back after a standout showing at the position last week.
Marco Asensio (6/10):
Introduced to provide a creative spark. Didn't really touch the ball.
Dani Ceballos (N/A):
An unfriendly return to England for the former Arsenal man.
Lucas Vazquez (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Aurelien Tchouameni (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Carlo Ancelotti (3/10):
Militao was brought in for Rudiger in his side's only change after last week. The exact personnel at the back, though, is irrelevant. Madrid were entirely outplayed in the first half, and although they were better in the second, they never looked like causing City any serious problems. A few weeks left in the season, and Madrid have nothing left to play for. This is not where Ancelotti wanted to be.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

Subs & Manager