It would not be an exaggeration to say that Manchester City’s recent history will be decided by the outcome of the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup against the reigning champions Real Madrid tonight.
Real Madrid is the only team that stands between Manchester City and the opportunity to win a historic triple. After Arsenal’s loss to Brighton over the weekend, City now has a good chance of winning the Premier League championship outright. The FA Cup final will be played against Manchester United, and City will be big favorites to win.
However, this competition is for the Champions League. And this is Real Madrid, a team that excels in competitions that need them to get past the first round. To the point that it may occasionally appear as though they are able to use some kind of dark magic to pull themselves out of difficult circumstances.
It was just a year ago that these two teams competed against each other in the semifinal, and Rodrygo scored a goal in injury time to send the match into extra time. After then, it appeared unavoidable that Karim Benzema would score the game-winning penalty.
It was the second time Manchester City had been ousted from a UCL semifinal; the first time it happened, Real Madrid was the team who did them in during the 2015-16 season. If they are unable to advance, it would be the first occasion in the history of the UEFA Champions League that a team has been ousted in the semifinals by the same opponent in successive seasons of competition.
However, there is a significant distinction between this terrifying event and the one that occurred in Madrid a year ago. Because of their success in previous European tournaments, Manchester City have turned their home stadium, the Etihad Stadium, into something of a fortress in preparation for the second leg of this tie.
It was the defending champions who struck early in the opening match, when it appeared as though Man City would have a better chance of making the net ripple. De Bruyne’s blazing shot, in which he displayed outstanding skill to pick out the bottom corner, insured that Pep Guardiola’s side would take a 1-1 draw back to their headquarters. Prior to that, Carlo Ancelotti’s team were destined to increase their advantage.
It was of the utmost importance for Manchester City’s title contenders to avoid getting beaten at the Bernabeu, and they will undoubtedly go into Wednesday’s second leg match as the favorites, which will be embroidered on their jerseys.
If Pep Guardiola’s team were to come out on top against the Spanish giants, they would be in excellent position to become only the second team in history, following in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, to win the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup all in the same season.
“How incredibly blessed we are. We are quite fortunate to be at this location. “It’s in our hands, it depends on us, we don’t have to do anything extraordinary; we just have to be ourselves and win one game in order to get to the final,” Guardiola said during his pre-match news conference on Tuesday.
Defender Kyle Walker, who did a wonderful job in the first leg but still came out second best against Vinicius Junior, who scored for Real Madrid in the first leg, remarked that he would not want to be made into an internet meme tonight. Vinicius Junior scored for Real Madrid in the first leg.
Walker was tasked with covering Vinicius along Madrid’s left side, and Guardiola was likely going to rely on Walker’s speed to prevent the lightning quick Brazilian.
“After the first leg, he tried to rainbow flick me, so I went over to give him a hug instead. I pleaded with them not to make another attempt at turning myself into a meme. Boxers engage in a bout and then shake hands after the match. You treat them with the degree of respect that they deserve because they have earned it. When you cross the finish line at the CL with a huge club, you demonstrate your respect. But before that, it’s going to be dog eat dog,” Walker added. “Tomorrow night, I’ll show him the respect he deserves.”