Pep Guardiola collapsed because of “death”, Real Madrid upstream like an action movie
Man City put one foot in the final
Semi-final first leg at Etihad, Man City and Real Madrid gave the audience a spectacular chase. The Citizens won 4-3 and marched to the Bernabeu in the second leg with the advantage in hand.
It is still a game where the strikers on both sides continuously launch bombardment situations as soon as the opportunity appears. But the biggest difference is that both Real Madrid and Man City are much more cautious. Therefore, opportunities are also less obvious and goals are more difficult to appear.
Time just goes by, just as planned Pep Guardiola. And in the 73rd minute, everything seemed to be over for Real Madrid when Man City found the lead.
The away team accelerated too suddenly. Receiving the ball from the center circle, Bernardo Silva dared to go straight into the center and then deftly released it to the right. Just waiting for that, Mahrez launched a powerful left foot kick, beat goalkeeper Courtois and opened the scoring.
Adding Jack Grealish and Fernandinho to the field, Pep Guardiola clearly showed his intention to lower the squad, reducing the game speed to the slowest possible to lull Real to sleep in the remaining minutes. The door to the finals Champions League opened for the second time in a row with Man City.
Pep Guardiola collapsed because of “death grave”
People still say, Pep Guardiola is a tactical genius but often falls down at the decisive moment because he “thinks too much”. In the second leg against Real Madrid, the Spaniard chose to go against the usual routine.
Without strange tactics or a strange personnel change, this time Pep Guardiola acted like many other “regular” coaches: Withdrawing strikers, strengthening defenses to preserve the score.
It can be said that Pep succeeded in 89 minutes. But in football, just 89 minutes of success still does not guarantee a victory. Once again, the “death grave” where the defense of the team that Pep Guardiola built was re-acted at the right moment. Real Madrid – a club with special qualities in the Champions League – of course do not miss this opportunity.
Right in the 90th minute, the White Vulture leveled the score 1-1. The ball is opened to the left, Benzema tries to stretch inward. The two players who are considered the most reliable of the Man City defense, Ederson and Ruben Dias, were suddenly extremely passive, letting Rodrygo run through the space and cushion the ball into the net.
Just a minute later, it was Rodrygo again punishing Man City. The pair of centre-backs Laporte (1m91) and Dias (1m86) could not prevent the Brazilian striker, who is only 1m74 tall, to head high to score a goal for Real Madrid. The score was 2-1 after 2 main periods and the game had to go to extra time.
The nightmare continued for Man City after 95 minutes. Ruben Dias fouled in the penalty area resulted in a penalty. Benzema coolly beat Ederson to give Real Madrid a 6-5 lead on the final score.
Man City’s mentality was severely affected. Pep Guardiola tried to instill spirit in the players, but the legs no longer function as desired. Even when there was a chance to equalize in front of an empty goal from just 2 meters away, Fernandinho sent the ball wide.
120 minutes ended with the victory in favor of Real Madrid. A miraculous comeback, but worth it. In both matches, Benzema and his teammates always showed the spirit of not giving up, not collapsing when falling into a dangerous situation. They will go to the final, where Liverpool are waiting.
In contrast, Man City time and again took the advantage in hand but then squandered it. The “death grave” in the defense is also Pep Guardiola’s big weakness. The people he firmly believed in, instead of becoming heroes, acted as criminals.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Soha.vn – Read the original article here
