Pep Guardiola’s team is currently considered the strongest team in European football. But at the Bernabeu on the morning of May 10, they were trembling before the mighty Real.
Before Eduardo Camavinga had the ball in the 36th minute and created the situation that led to the turning point in the first leg of this season’s Champions League semi-final, Real Madrid were outclassed by the visitors.
Man City have won 16 consecutive matches before and show no signs of stopping. The first half hour of the match, the English team passed more than 300 times, held the ball 72% and launched 6 shots while Real Madrid did not have a single shot. Thibaut Courtois had to save 4 times, including an excellent shot from Rodri.
Difference
But Camavinga shot up like an arrow. From a player who started as a central midfielder, he was “patched” into the role of left-back. His assist for Vinicius helped the Brazilian striker make a great opening goal. Coach Carlo Ancelotti is certainly pleased with his student’s performance, but he also wants Real Madrid to have a true left-back to return Camavinga to his preferred role.
Ancelotti’s coaching philosophy is “whether rice picks up fish sauce”, which is different from the innovation and stereotypical system from Pep Guardiola. And it is that simplicity that makes Real Madrid scary. “Los Blancos” has repeatedly overcome opponents in the Champions League with his simple-looking counter-attacking football.
Man City understands the benefits of Real Madrid better than anyone. Even when the blue half of Manchester is in a near-destructive form since the beginning of the year, they have experienced moments of confusion at the Bernabeu.
At the end of the game, Man City fans sweated when Ederson saved a surprising long shot from Aurelien Tchouameni’s foot. Along with luck, miracle or fate, it is the daring handling of the Real Madrid midfielder that has led this club to extraordinary Champions League titles.
“Los Blancos” is also a team that knows how to be patient when it comes to the realization that it is not always possible to overwhelm the opponent. Rodri once bitterly said that Man City played better in the 120 minutes of the semi-final last year and then lost the final.
Former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde put it even better: The moment you think you’re closest to beating Madrid is the moment you’re closest to losing to them.
The quintessence of Man City
Man City escaped defeat at the Bernabeu and in theory, they played better than last season as well as taking the advantage to enter the second leg at home. However, once again Man City also see that even with how perfect they are, how high they are this season, Real Madrid is still an obsession for them.
Erling Haaland plays hard, but he needs more time to prove he is enough to inherit Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. In front of an experienced Real defender, the Norwegian striker did not show much. Man City didn’t score thanks to adept shots from Pep, they did it through a moment of individual brilliance, just like Real Madrid.
Many believe that will be a big difference of Man City 2022/23 compared to themselves in previous seasons. The Etihad Stadium team needs to take advantage of opportunities. Man City is still stronger than Real Madrid in terms of force, Pep’s team is considered to have a higher chance of reaching the Champions League final.
But what happened in the first leg shows that in the reunion at the Etihad next week, Man City is very vulnerable to the speed of Vinicius or the mischievousness of Rodrygo or Benzema.
The play style of Real and Man City is basically completely opposite. Pep’s system requires great fluency and articulation of the chains, while Real and Ancelotti make the most of Vinicius’ counter-attacking ability.
Jurgen Klopp once admitted that even if you knew the Real Madrid midfielders would pass to Vinicius or Benzema, there was nothing you could do.
Does Pep have any plan to prevent Real Madrid’s counterattack? The Spaniard may be satisfied with the score in the first leg, not the overall performance.
