Manchester City will be hoping to replicate the mauling they gave Real Madrid last year. Similar to this year they had initially drawn the Los Blancos at the Bernabeu. In the return leg, they ruthlessly tore the Spanish side to bits. Hence they went on to win the Champions League.
Now with their 3-3 draw in the first leg, they’ll target a high win at the Etihad. Nevertheless, the Los Blancos will not be unalert to this. The Spanish giants will be conscious of avoiding a repeat the last year’s damage. It’s expected that the Carlo Ancelotti side must have learned their lessons. But in all Pep Guardiola’s side will go into the second leg with the confidence of winning. All this is thanks to the motivation of the last year’s victory.
Manchester City’s Victory against Madrid
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Last year’s Champions League semi-finals saw an intriguing fixture of the Citizens against the Los Blancos.
The First Leg was a tough encounter for Man City. They struggled at Bernabeu, wherein Madrid dominated the pitch in and out. An early goal from Vinicius Jr started the problems for Manchester City. But somehow the English side held on. Madrid had quite a lot of chances which they lost. Soon in the second half Kevin DeBruyne had an outside shot rolling into the net. This changed the dynamics of the game for the city.
In the second Leg City had their own fair share of dominance. However, they converted it ruthlessly! With two goals in the first half, Bernardo Silva threw the Madrid side in disarray. Toni Kroos had a chance to strike the bar. But it didn’t scare the Citizens from continuing their rioting.
2nd half came, and it was Akanji and Alvarez’s turn to add more fuel to the flames. This completed the 4-nil scoreline. It was shocking as Madrid couldn’t find a single goal at the Etihad
Real Madrid left the game in dismay.
Pep Guardiola: Preparation for the Second Leg
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Manchester City will approach the 2nd Leg with strong belief. Therefore they’ll show no iota of fear and edginess. This will help them in dominating the game, thereby causing all sorts of problems for the Spanish side. Nonetheless, they will also be specially prepared for more determined opponents. It’s expected that the Los Blancos would have a different energy from last year’s own.
Possible Tactical Approach from the Citizens
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Man City will stick to their possession football. However, something notable was seen in the first leg. The city took a lot of long-range strikes. All three goals from City came from individual brilliance and also a long-range strike. So aside from from the possession control Manchester City will have something else in store for Madrid. Pep’s side will target a lot of long-range strikes to tilt the game momentum more to their side. With the home advantage, it will be easier for them to experiment with all these options.
The headache will be Madrid’s, especially on how to curb all sorts of these possibilities from the City
More Possible Trophies to Win
Manchester City is still having a great season despite their poor start. They are still on the verge of repeating another treble. Thanks to points dropped by Liverpool and Arsenal they are now on top of the table with six games, and the league trophy is now in their hands. Also, they have an FA Cup tie against Chelsea. Manchester City will be looking to overcome all this to once again exert their dominance in European and world football.
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