Manchester – Did they really think they could Real Madrid powerful Real Madrid? Manchester City has shown all the qualities that have been the European Champions Plan: flying in the seat of your pants, playing your best football in patches, playing that your luck will hold for the rest, mark your best chances, count on The other team lacked theirs more and more disconcerting. You may not like it, but that’s what the performance of the Champions League Elite has been like for nine years.
This is what City delivered – not good football, not at all, but the meta of the Champions League. The result? They became Real Madrided.
With the second stage to come in the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday, Madrid looks good to win the global victory over City for the fourth time in the six direct elimination meetings between these two teams in the last nine years. These matches provided all kinds of incredible breaks, more in favor of the holder than improbable. Think of Rodrygo’s double death, the 33 shots leading to a goal last season. The balloon never seems to break the city of City against Madrid.
This time, it did most often. Yes, there was Kylian Mbappe Shinning Home Acrobly, but the No. 9 of Madrid had missed a more presentable handful. For once in the largest of European evenings, it was Madrid, not their adversaries, who managed to underestimate their expected objectives. Carlo Ancelotti’s men found themselves on 3.42, half of the 1.6 Manchester City came from the disputed penalty that Phil Foden won for Erling Haaland just by the box. Another eighth of their other goal, Haaland remaining next to a Slither when the Ballon of Jack Grenish above had found Josko Gvardiol.
At the other end, Madrid seemed to find more and more imaginative ways not to mark. Twice in the first half, the ball was on their left side and, en masse, the city seemed to forget that there was another side on the field. First, Ferland Mendy could not transform half a penalty surface into a goal. In one way or another, Mbappe.
Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior stole towards the line immediately, their crosses finding no one where generally Mbappe or Jude Bellingham would be in the right place. Vinicius could have had a penalty in the 10th minute, but for an offside which was tighter than it should be. For 20 minutes, City was completely out of their game in the way Madrid is usually in the minutes preceding a Karim Benzema hat.
The reigning champions are hardly the most diligent pressors, but at the beginning, they were reincarnated by Borussia Dortmund by Jurgen Klopp. They had nothing to do to get there. Bellingham and Rodrygo were simply placed in the third in the city and waited for someone to give him the ball. As this game was increasing, such indiscretion in possession would cost hosts very dearly. In the first half, they came out in a way.
The city was not without times of buyout. For a while after Haaland’s opening, their assault paid dividends. Guardiola may have appointed five central backs in his departure XI, but they quickly merged into an extremely aggressive 2-3-5, his reversed rear in the midfield with John Stones while Bernardo Silva joined the last . When the ball has zipped around the third of Madrid between the 20th and 40th minute, you could almost Kid yourself that you were looking at a replay two years ago.
However, it would be an illusion. Too often, City looked like bad teams of Madrid, those who depend completely on individuals to create moments of magic, whether it be Kevin de Bruyne in depth to make a ball in the head in the head of the opener or Manuel Akanji And Nathan Ake Hurling themselves in front of the blows. Their plans to bring the ball into good shooting positions seemed to be at best.
On the other hand, it was Madrid who looked like the real team. Their defense started forward. There were moments when Mbappe and Vinicius sagged in their effortless effort, but they had a plan to block the paths to the midfielder when Ederson started the city’s attacks, to challenge his death. This would ultimately lead to their second equalizer. Their winner came because their star attacker was ready to continue for a 50-50 ball at the last second. A paved background line from their midfielder and their academy obtained all the protection they needed.
“Defense is not an individual problem,” said Ancelotti, “it’s a team problem. Today, we were a team, we defended. The four defenders who never played together were able to play a good game because the team worked very well defensively.
“It’s a surprising game we played tonight. I didn’t think that at that time, the team was able to make such a sacrifice that he did this evening.”
The Italian is often considered more a manager of a man than a tactic master, but he knew what he wanted from Madrid and he obtained it.
“The plan was to press high when Ederson took out the ball from the rear and having an average compact block,” he said. “So that our two players inside do not allow our central fields to make sure they were closer to the back line. With the ball, we wanted to enlarge the field, to have control of the Ball, not be frustrated and look for the pass. “
It was Madrid who had the plan, the one City had seen coming but could not deny or react. It was Madrid who was the upper team, the best version of this team in which Guardiola faced City. Madrid was the team with the match plan, their hosts with the giant Rodri Tifo. Do it for him, do it because the vibrations seemed to be their approach. Well, it always seemed to work for Madrid.
