Valverde’s historic evening at the Bernabeu brings Real Madrid closer to the quarter-finals

The European evening at the Bernabeu Stadium, the stronghold of Real Madrid, the record European champion, smiled for the royal team, especially for its Uruguayan star, Federico Valverde (27 years old), who scored a “hat-trick” in a 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. Real Madrid approached the quarter-finals with this big win, unless it lost by 4 goals in the second leg at Al-Ittihad Stadium. Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa described his player Valverde as “Juanito of the 21st century,” because he represents Real Madrid’s actual identity and one of the team’s leaders. The Spanish coach said: “Valverde played in every position. We wanted him to be more offensive, but he helped even with defensive tasks. Most important of all is what he transmits.”