Manchester City won the match, but for me they lost it. Because a team that was winning 2-0 after 10 minutes, and that could have been 4-0 up after half an hour, ended up only winning 4-3, which feels like losing the match. And if there is a return leg and, on top of that, it is at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu… ufff.
When it was 2-0, I said to myself that if the match ended there and then, the headline of this article would be “Don’t write them off”. And so, a scoreline of 4-3 means they are very much alive.
Pep Guardiola: We performed really well, but Madrid is Madrid
It was an incredible match. A match worthy of the Champions League and the semi-finals. A gift for the fans. In terms of the back and forth, Los Blancos were bloodied as they conceded at the start of each half. It’s as if Real Madrid need to become angry. Punching them only make them stronger.
They show their best selves. The angry Real Madrid from the great nights. I believe that the City side on the pitch are a better team and more complete than Real Madrid, but they still do not have that competitive edge that I have spoken about before.
Real Madrid had a lot of mature youngsters on the pitch, above all Vinicius, Florentino Perez‘s signing in response to the transfer market inflation of Neymar‘s 222 million euro move. As for the veterans, we have to point out Karim Benzema and Luka Modric, whose contributions saw Real Madrid get back into the match at 2-1.
Ancelotti: ‘We are still alive’ after 4-3 1st leg UCL semi loss to Man City
What a delight to see Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva‘s spoonfuls of caviar, Benzema vanquishing his own penalty ghosts and Vinicius‘ goal, dribbling past the air and Fernandinho. He looked like Usain Bolt, with a ball at his feet.
On the downside, I don’t know whether to attribute Real Madrid‘s defensive weakness to David Alaba‘s muscle problems or to the fact that, sometimes, Eder Militao looks so overwhelmed that he looks at the shadow, instead of attacking the opponent or the ball. We must acknowledge that City had a very clear chance at the start of the second half when Riyad Mahrez hit one post before Phil Foden hit Dani Carvajal.
So, in spite of that fact that Real Madrid are Real Madrid and the Bernabeu is the Bernabeu… keep an eye out because City are an outstanding team and, although it is a victory in lower-case letters, they have earned serious respect.
Marca
