It's safe to say Real Madrid's 3-0 route of Manchester City caught many by surprise. The Premier League side were understandably favorites coming into the game, however Los Blancos ran circles around them in one of the best team performances of the season. Just how dominant Los Blancos really were can't be understated, and this stat shows their domination of Pepe Guardiola's men.
Thibaut Courtois registered more touches than Erling Haaland during Real's 3-0 victory, with the goalkeeper managing 38 touches and the striker only 10.
Courtois humiliates Haaland
It's hard to not say that this stat is quite shocking. Even though Haaland is more of a classic, goal poaching kind of number nine, who doesn't get many touches during games, to have less touches than a goalkeeper is almost embarrassing. The Norwegian made no impact on the game for Manchester City, ultimately getting substituted in the 83rd minute for Omar Marmoush.
One aspect of the Real Madrid this stat highlights is the defensive plan Arbeloa came into the game with, and the flawless execution by the players. Rudiger and Huijsen locked down Haaland, Ferland Mendy was rock solid on the left flank against Semenyo, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, with help from Fede Valverde kept Jeremy Doky quiet all night.
While understandably Valverde's hat-trick is taking all the headlines, it can't go unrecognized that this was one of the best all around team performances of the season and easily the best since the El Clasico victory back in October. Every player played their part against City, and head into the second leg next week with a solid chance to move on to the quarter-finals.
The biggest thing Real have to avoid is getting complasent and relaxed. While 3-0 is a huge deficit to come back from, it is still doable, and with City feeding off the energy from the home crowd, the players can't afford to slip up and need to be fully focused from the opening whistle to the closing whistle next week.