Defender says Real Madrid ‘were just better’ over two legsAké admits difficulties ‘a new experience for everyone’ Nathan Aké has lamented Manchester City’s lack of fortitude after the club were dumped out of the Champions League and said the unprecedented number of defeats being experienced under Pep Guardiola may be taking a toll. Kylian Mbappé made the most of City’s defensive frailties on Wednesday by opening the scoring for Real Madrid in the fourth minute and hitting a hat-trick as the Spanish side won the playoff 6-3 on aggregate. Continue reading...

Kylian Mbappe produced a devastating performance for Real Madrid as the La Liga giants swept Manchester City aside to progress with ease in the Champions League on Wednesday night

Kylian Mbappe's second-leg hat-trick humbled Manchester City as they exited the Champions League on Wednesday - and the result means major relief for Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappe was the star of the show as Real Madrid knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League thanks to his hat-trick and the forward has shared who he wants to face in the next round

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe's goal against Manchester City in the first leg may have come from a scrappy finish but there was nothing fortunate about his hat-trick in the return leg at Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

There is some certainty now that Guardiola’s greatest City side is formally over after a weak Champions League defeat Rage, rage against the dying of the sky blue light. Or, alternately, don’t rage at all. The scoreline read 3-1 by the end, but for long periods on a lovely soft February night at the Bernabéu this felt like an act of extended sporting cruelty, an opportunity to sit back and watch the players of Real Madrid pulling the wings very slowly from an aubergine-shirted butterfly. The key executioner was Kylian Mbappé, who barely seemed to sprint, or wrinkle his shirt, let alone dig into the outer reaches of his talent en route to a clean, crisp, almost uncontested hat-trick. Continue reading...

Manchester City manager vows to stay on at club‘We have to try step by step to get better again’ In the final minutes of Manchester City’s destruction by Real Madrid thanks to Kylian Mbappé’s hat-trick on Wednesday night, the Santiago Bernabéu crowd broke off from roaring “olé” at every pass, wedged its collective tongue in its cheek and pleaded with Pep Guardiola to stay. As it turned out, that was another wish they had granted here, the City manager confirming that he intends to continue at the Etihad Stadium next season. Continue reading...

Chris Sutton looks at how Real Madrid's "unstoppable" Kylian Mbappe ran Manchester City "ragged" and netted a hat-trick to secure Carlo Ancelotti's side a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

A Kylian Mbappe hat-trick sees off Manchester City in convincing fashion to send Real Madrid into the last sixteen of the Champions League with a 3-1 (6-3 on aggregate) win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Pep Guardiola had asked his team to at least give the Santiago Bernabéu a fright; instead, they were the ones exposed to a terrifying truth, wearing a haunted hollow look. It is not just that Manchester City’s Champions League campaign is over, a Kylian Mbappé hat-trick sending Real Madrid through here; it is them. The team that Guardiola said was a machine for eight years is no more. City’s manager had said he was lying when he gave his team a 1% chance of going through, and so it proved: it was not even that high. There was no comeback, not even a glimpse, of one. No epic, just the end. When they scored in the last minute, it was greeted with ironic cheers, this stadium continuing to laugh at them as they had done for some time now. The goal did not matter: the only bad news on a perfect night was the yellow card that means Jude Bellingham will miss the first leg against Bayer Leverkusen or Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid were superb, confirming that they are candidates for the competition they consider their own. Continue reading...

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe scores a stunning hat-trick against Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League play-off at the Bernabeu.

REAL MADRID 3-1 (Agg: 6-3) MANCHESTER CITY: Kylian Mbappe was in devastating form as he scored a hat-trick for the Spanish giants on what was a night to forget for Pep Guardiola's side

LAFC striker was not at home during break-inAthletes in US have been targeted by burglars Los Angeles FC striker Olivier Giroud’s home was the target of a burglary earlier this month, police said. Los Angeles police said they responded on 5 February to a report that a window had been smashed at a home in west LA. Giroud and his family were not home when the incident occurred. Burglars entered the residence through the window, and when Giroud’s wife came home to find items – including 10 luxury watches – missing, she called police, according to reports by ESPN and TMZ Sports. The burglars are reported to have taken valuables worth $500,000 during the break-in. Continue reading...

Paul Pogba will soon be permitted to return to footballing action after serving his doping ban but needs a new club after parting ways with Serie A side Juventus earlier this season