Real Madrid and Manchester City played out an all-time classic Champions League encounter at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday night, which ended in a 3-3 draw ahead of the second leg to be played next week.
How would Real Madrid approach this game?
There have been big, historic, ties since then, against Manchester City no less, but they have been with part of the stands closed.
Some pundits suggested that City should walk all over Real Madrid, and this was a clear demonstration to the exact opposite as Real Madrid were able to compete on quality alone.
Why did Real Madrid look so tired?
In the second half of this game, you never would have guessed that Real Madrid were the team to come into the tie following a nine-day break.
It’s true that by allowing Manchester City to retain possession, they were chasing a lot of the ball, but even so, to be quite so far off the intensity of Manchester City from the hour-mark onwards was surprising.
That was when the game turned on its head and Manchester City scored twice to get firmly back into the tie.
Tuesday night at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid and Manchester City engaged in a legendary Champions League match that ended in a 3-3 draw, setting up the second leg for next week. After Andriy Lunin was caught off guard by a Bernardo Silva free kick, which gave the Citizens an early lead, Ruben Dias deflected an Eduardo Camavinga shot into his own goal, and minutes later Rodrygo Goes gave the home team the lead. Subsequently, Fede Valverde equalized the score with a volley after Phil Foden and Josep Gvardiol scored impressive goals from outside the box in the second half.
Three responses.
1. Would a yellow card be given to any of the four players who are in danger of being suspended?
After just 40 seconds, we knew the answer to this one: Aurelién Tchouameni had given Manchester City a free-kick that would give them the lead after he had taken down Jack Grealish. Francois Letexier, the French referee, had given Tchouameni a yellow card. Despite receiving yellow cards, Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior did not play it safe; instead, they confronted Letexier head-on and criticized his choices. Along with two other infractions, Eduardo Camavinga was fortunate to escape receiving more after a late tackle on England international Phil Foden resulted in his removal. No one in attendance could possibly accuse any of them of having one eye on the second leg.
2. How are Real Madrid going to approach this match?
Pre-game, Kiyan Sobhani wrote about the two possible strategies for this game: defend deep like Arsenal or go all out like Liverpool. Though it never seemed likely that Carlo Ancelotti would ask his team to sit deep and grind out a victory, Real Madrid was forced to respond because of Bernardo Silva’s early goal, which made it impossible for Ancelotti to do so. Real Madrid attempted to counter quickly through Rodrygo, who had more latitude to cut in from the left as he pleases, while Manchester City’s press became more focused after they crossed the halfway line. Although there was mayhem at the Bernabéu, it will be interesting to see if Ancelotti alters his strategy for the second leg in Manchester.
Three. How would the atmosphere at the Santiago Bernabéu Estadio be?
This was the first major Champions League match held at the sold-out Estadio Santiago Bernabéu since 2019. Since then, there have been numerous historic matches, including one against Manchester City, but they have involved some portion of the stands being closed. There was a slight difference in the stands, though not everyone complied with the club’s request to wear white. The supporters of the team made a concentrated effort to encourage those who were lucky enough to be present to wear white. The fans’ expectations were fully satisfied with the two goals that followed City’s opening goal. The roof’s shackles were also put to the test, challenging the notion that a louder stadium would result from it.
Three queries.
1. What is the second leg’s setup here?
It was all to play for in the return match in Manchester last year after a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the semifinal in Madrid, and we all know how that ended. Similar results are shown here, with the scores level. However, Real Madrid might feel that they could have led into the second leg by a few points. Real Madrid was able to compete on quality alone, despite some pundits’ suggestions that City should easily defeat them. This proved to be an utterly false statement. Even so, visiting the Etihad Stadium seems intimidating given the defensive weaknesses on display and Aurelién Tchouameni’s suspension.
2. Without Tchouameni, how will the defense be arranged?
Although Tchouameni’s suspension prevents him from playing in the rematch in a week, Carlo Ancelotti made it apparent with his choice that he prefers the Frenchman to captain Nacho Fernández for a significant European match. Éder Militão will still not be ready for the match, so Ancelotti’s decision to start Nacho in the return match in Manchester—a move he avoided on Tuesday night—now appears all but certain. While Antonio Rüdiger put on yet another outstanding display, Madrid supporters may find themselves worrying about who will be playing alongside him in England the following week for the next eight days.
Three. Why was Real Madrid looking so worn out?
You could never have predicted that Real Madrid would enter the tie after a nine-day break, at least not in the second half of this match. It’s true that they were chasing a lot of the ball because they were letting Manchester City keep possession, but it was still unexpected to be so far off the intensity of Manchester City after an hour. At that point, Manchester City scored twice to take a firm lead back into the match, completely turning the tide of the match. It was already too late, with City leading again, when Ancelotti finally made adjustments after 71 minutes. Ancelotti and his team will probably think about it over the next few days.
