Real – Man City: When the King returns to the city

*Real – Man City: 2h Thursday, 5/5 Hanoi time.

Real has a reason to be satisfied when leaving Etihad Stadium with fail 3-4 at the turn. They suffered against attacks from the hosts and were twice down three times, but only conceded a minimum of one goal. The shine of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, and the mistakes of Man Citymaking the opportunity not slip out of Real’s hands.

After the battle, Pep Guardiola publicly expressed his regret at not being able to finish Real, because he understood how terrifying their position in the Champions League was. This season, Real many times fell into the position of “thousands of pounds hanging on to the hair” but still overcame it thanks to a different bravery. Returning to the Bernabeu, Real may again show the original form of the most successful team in the history of the C1/Champions League. And Man City will face the ultimate challenge in their efforts to reach the final for the second consecutive all-English season.

And if Man City continues, it will be the third time in the last four seasons, the Cup is the internal battle of the Premier League. That scenario would also see La Liga representatives absent from Europe’s most important match for four years in a row. Before that, Real and Barca shared this title for five consecutive seasons.

A 4-0 victory over Espanyol over the weekend helped Real win La Liga four rounds early. During the championship parade in Cibeles Square, Real did not forget to remind about the second leg against Man City. This is also the advantage of teachers and students Ancelottibecause compared to them, Man City faces a tough race in the Premier League when only one point ahead of Liverpool.

“To play in the Champions League final, determination and effort alone are not enough,” said Ancelotti. “To win the championship you need the individual qualities of the players, as well as a combination of situational factors. If we win at Man City, it will not be because we are more determined or by grace. certain color, it’s because of the collective commitment and the individual qualities of the players.”

Since December 2018, Real have never failed to score at home in the Champions League. That is the basis for Ancelotti’s teachers and students to believe that they can concede the most solid defense in the Premier League. However, with what happened in the first leg, the defense is the worry for Ancelotti. Man City enter this match with a streak of four consecutive wins and scored 16 goals in those matches.

The absence of David Alaba makes Real’s defense even more fragile. The experience of the Austrian defender is important to the home team, because Eder Militao is inexperienced. Man City will be without the services of John Stones and Guardiola hopes Kyle Walker will be in full shape after missing the last five games.

“Experience is one thing, but what you get from it is important,” said Guardiola. “You can still make the same mistakes. Every game is different and last season is different from this season. How will the players wake up tomorrow, how will they feel? In fact, Man City played big games quite often last season.This year we had a few of those games too and played well, the players know how to deal with the situation.But that doesn’t guarantee City will play. Good game next. The players know we have to play well and give our best if we want to reach the final.”

Man City have taken the lead 10 times in a Champions League knockout tie and have only been knocked out by Monaco once in Guardiola’s first season. In the last nine away games, they only conceded once. But Kevin De Bruyne and teammates need to watch out for Karim Benzema, who is in high form and leads the top scorer race with 14 goals.

The first leg is Man City’s third consecutive victory over Real. In history, only Ajax and Bayern have beaten the Bernaubeu team four times in a row. If it catches up with that achievement, Man City will not only win the right to face Liverpool in the final, it will be an affirmation of the strength of a new force that has emerged and has been waiting for the European championship for too long.

Quang Huy