A powerless attack on a crucial Champions League night

Real Madrid left an alarming statistic in their clash with Manchester City—one that reveals far more than a disappointing result. Under Xabi Alonso, the team finished the match with just one shot on target, the early goal from Rodrygo, and never tested the goalkeeper again for more than an hour. It is their lowest total at the Santiago Bernabéu in the Champions League since 2003/04, a number that confirms a worrying lack of sharpness in the final third.

Despite recording 16 total attempts, Madrid fluctuated between brief spells of intensity and long periods of stagnation. The inability to build on the opening goal ultimately defined a performance filled with frustration for a Bernabéu that expected much more.

Rodrygo ends his drought and Endrick excites, but it wasn’t enough

The early strike from Rodrygo, ending a 1,415-minute goal drought, seemed like the spark Los Blancos desperately needed. Yet the momentum faded quickly. The Brazilian struggled to find spaces, and the team fell back into a predictable rhythm that rarely threatened the City defense.

The entrance of Endrick brought a surge of energy—his header against the crossbar injected life into the stadium—but isolated moments were not enough to alter the trajectory of a match in which Madrid consistently ran out of ideas. The lack of coordinated movements, sharp passing sequences, or second-ball threat became increasingly evident as the minutes passed.

The weight of missing Mbappé

The absence of Kylian Mbappé due to discomfort in his left knee proved decisive. Madrid once again showed how much they depend on their star forward, who boasts a Champions League conversion rate of one goal every 3.55 shots, strengthened further by his four-goal explosion against Olympiacos.

Without him, Madrid lacked explosiveness, depth, and a true penalty-box threat. Xabi Alonso admitted as much post-match: “We missed him,” he said, acknowledging the significance of not having his most clinical finisher available in a match where taking a two-goal lead could have changed everything.

An offensive problem with deeper roots

The absence of Mbappé amplified the issue, but it did not create it. Against Manchester City, set pieces failed, second balls led nowhere, and even Vinícius, forced to operate at times as a pure ‘9’, struggled to find rhythm or consistent support.

The single shot on target is not an isolated statistic—it encapsulates a broader creative blockage that arrives at the most delicate stage of Madrid’s season. If Los Blancos want to remain competitive in Europe, they will need to find structure, clarity, and solutions that transcend individual talent.