Real Madrid: 5 players who must step up after meltdown vs. Manchester City

Real Madrid seemed to be in control after Isco scored an opening goal that was set up wonderfully by the hard-working Vinicius Junior, but woeful defensive errors completely ruined Los Blancos in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Manchester City.

The fans at the Santiago Bernabeu entered Wednesday night’s fixture against Manchester City with hope but anxiousness, as Real Madrid were coming off two underwhelming results in La Liga against Celta Vigo and Levante. And despite striking first against City via Isco, they finished in even more disappointing fashion.

Real Madrid are now staring down a 2-1 deficit heading into the second leg of the Round of 16 tie and must head to the road to face a City side that will be healthy and brimming with confidence. Defensive errors from Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal undid Real in this match, and Ramos will be suspended for the second leg after picking up a red card.

Here are five players who must step up in the second leg after this tough-to-swallow defeat.

CB Raphael Varane

Raphael Varane actually played quite well against Manchester City and was probably the best defensive player on the pitch for Los Blancos. However, he has to step up, simply because more will be put on his plate in the second leg.

He will have to head into Manchester as the leader of the back four with the young Eder Militao by his side. And while Militao is talented, the onus will be on Varane to prove that their poor performance in a 3-0 defeat at PSG in September won’t be replicated on the big stage in the even more important March fixture.

It will all be on the line in the second match, and Varane will need to be perfect. He’s arguably the best center back in the world, and he’ll be tasked with showing it on a world stage.