MADRID (AP) — There was an uncertainty among Real Madrid fans before Wednesday’s Champions League match against Manchester City.
It has a new and untested coach, recently lost two league games in a row, and last weekend required a last-minute deflection to beat Celta Vigo.
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Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa hugs Federico Valverde after he scored during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Federico Valverde celebrates after scoring during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Federico Valverde celebrates after scoring during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Federico Valverde celebrates after scoring during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Federico Valverde dispelled their doubts in a scintillating first 45 minutes, scoring a sublime hat trick en route to Madrid's 3-0 victory in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Valverde completed a quick counterattack and rounded goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a deft touch to score the opener after 20 minutes.
He ran on to a pass from Vinicius Junior and then fired home a low shot with his weaker left foot seven minutes later to make it 2-0.
The Uruguay midfielder saved the best for last, taking Brahim Diaz’s clever chip and then knocking it over the outstretched leg of Marc Guéhi before volleying past Donnarumma to make it 3-0 three minutes before halftime.
The home fans chanted his name as the teams walked off.
“You dream of nights like this,” he told broadcaster Movistar before adding that this was perhaps his greatest performance in all white. “I had fun tonight. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a game like I did this one.”
The win capped what has been a remarkable few months for the 27-year-old Uruguayan. Valverde has been a versatile and reliable figure for Madrid this turbulent season and particularly since the turn of the year.
Kylian Mbappé, out injured against City, has scored the goals, and Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham have taken the headlines.
But through it all, Valverde has remained a solid and reliable presence at midfield or full back, missing only one Champions league match and one La Liga game all season.
That dependability is priceless for Álvaro Arbeloa. Even better news for the new coach is Valverde appears to be hitting peak form.
Never the most prolific goalscorer, Valverde has stepped up with Mbappé and Bellingham out injured. All six of his goals this season have come since January.
“It doesn’t matter where you play him,” Arbeloa said. “He is the reference point. Fede Valverde is everything a Real Madrid player should be.”
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Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa hugs Federico Valverde after he scored during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Federico Valverde celebrates after scoring during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Federico Valverde celebrates after scoring during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Federico Valverde celebrates after scoring during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two teenage suspects killed three men in a shooting at a San Diego mosque Monday before killing themselves a few blocks away, authorities said. Police Chief Scott Wahl said a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego was among those killed and that the case is being investigated as a hate crime.
About two hours before the attack, the mother of one of the suspects called police to report that her son was missing, Wahl told a news conference. She feared he might be suicidal, and she eventually realized that several of her weapons were missing, along with her vehicle.
The case became even more urgent when police learned that he was dressed in camouflage and that he was in the company of an acquaintance, and officers began using whatever technology they had available to locate the teens, including automated license plate readers.
Wahl said that’s when police began getting reports of a shooting.
The Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, according to its website. It's about 9 miles (15 kilometers) north of downtown San Diego.
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There had been no specific threat made against the Islamic Center of San Diego, but San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said investigators were aware of “generalized hate rhetoric” in the case and are investigating the attack as a hate crime.
Wahl noted that the mother of one of the suspects found a note he left behind, but the chief declined to disclose its contents.
Wahl says that about two hours before the attack, the mother of one of the suspects called police to report that her son was missing.
Wahl told a news conference the she feared he might be suicidal, and she eventually realized that several of her weapons were missing, along with her vehicle.
The case became even more urgent when police learned that he was dressed in camouflage and that he was in the company of an acquaintance, and officers began using whatever technology they had available to locate the teens, including automated license plate readers.
Wahl said that’s when police began getting reports of a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Responding officers found the three victims at the mosque and the two teens dead of apparently self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a vehicle nearby.
That’s according to Sharp Memorial Hospital spokesperson Erica Carlson.
Carlson says the hospital did not expect to receive additional patients but was staying in contact with the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services.
The hospital declined to provide additional details.
That’s according to the center’s website.
Aerial TV footage showed more than a dozen children holding hands and being walked out of the parking lot of the center as it was surrounded by scores of police vehicles.
Parents were directed to a nearby area to retrieve their children.
The white mosque is in a neighborhood of homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets.
“All of the kids are safe,” Wahl said, appearing emotional. “Our hearts go out to the families that are in this moment being notified of what has happened to their loved ones.”
Imam Taha Hassane also said at a news conference that “all the places of worship in our beautiful city should always be protected.”
Tazheen Nizam of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in San Diego says that “no one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school.”
Nizam says in a statement that CAIR is “working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”
That’s according to Chief Wahl.
Wahl says that as officers responded to the mosque, they also fielded reports of gunfire a few blocks away, where a landscaper was shot at but was uninjured.
He says the suspects were found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby.
Imam Taha Hassane says it also works to build relations in the community.
He told a news conference that a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about the Muslim faith.
That’s according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl.
Chief Scott Wahl says both suspects are believed to be teens and that the case is considered to be a hate crime.
“We are grateful to the first responders on the scene working to protect the community and urge everyone to follow guidance from local authorities,” his office posted on the social platform X.
Children hold hand as they walk near the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
People carry weapons at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A woman watches from a distance at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Two men embrace at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Police stage at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Police stage at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A body is covered with a tarp at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
People stand behind police tape at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A sheriff's deputy stages at the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego Monday, May 18, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
