Last year’s blistering semi-final at the Etihad was a triumphant night, but Pep Guardiola knows there is no guarantee of a repeat.
Beating Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals in front of their home crowd was Manchester City’s dream come true last spring. The challenge for the reigning champions is to return to Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium, and after the brilliant performance of a year ago, there is no feeling of inferiority.
At the end of a seismic evening at a jubilant Etihad Stadium, Pep Guardiola’s side won 4-0, 5-1 on aggregate, one step closer to the treble, and Carlo Ancelotti’s continental aristocrats returned to the Spanish capital in shock.
It’s a good demonstration against the record 14 winners, which Bernardo Silva presented as the “kings of the competition” on the eve of the quarter-final second leg, with the draw at 3-3 after last week’s goal. Winning match. It’s a duel of transitions, anathema to Guardiola’s desire to control the team. While he and Silva are aware of Madrid’s power, the Portuguese underlines the importance of their functionality from 11 months ago, in which he scored two goals in the first 37 minutes.
Especially when Ancelotti’s men overcame a 5-3 aggregate deficit last year in the 90th minute of the semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu, with Karim Benzema’s extra-time penalty eliminating City 6-5. Madrid’s Federico Valverde, whose past volley reached parity 8 days ago, characterises the Etihad as his most complicated stadium to play in, due to the fans and City’s way of playing.
Silva understands why. We have that feeling and we still feel like we’re very strong with our people,” he says. “After what happened last season, when we were eliminated against Real, we are looking to do things well and this functionality is also a kind of excuse. To our enthusiasts for what happened because we believe we owed them some other chance to win the competition.
“Now it’s another game, other teams, we have our signings and the players who have left. Let’s see, we’re still very confident because we’re playing at home against the kings of the competition.
Those Silva has been talking about as signings since then for City are Jérémy Doku, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, while two pillars of the three-time champions are Ilkay Gündogan, the captain, and Riyad Mahrez. Madrid’s big signing last summer was Jude Bellingham, who despite keeping quiet in the first leg, is their player of the season, the pivot of Ancelotti’s team, who has contributed 20 goals and 10 assists, being number 10.
Guardiola needs to slow down the 20-year-old again: “At his age, he bears the loads without any problem. He’s been given a smart mentality and he’s an exceptional player. We want to follow him and see what he does. Playing for a big club like Madrid or Barcelona it’s not easy to adapt quickly; From the beginning, his impact has been huge in terms of goals, presence and many other things.
As a former captain and coach of Barca, Guardiola has a rich history at Madrid. “This has been and will be important,” he says. Real Madrid in this festival is a wonderful match. It’s special for me, as a player and as a coach. But that doesn’t count. What topics do we want to do to win tomorrow?
The speed of Vinícius Júnior in midfield and Rodrygo away from home, as well as the shrewd midfield of Toni Kroos, complement Bellingham’s revolutionary threat, and while Guardiola understands how difficult it is to stifle Madrid at all times, he suggests City will try.
“We want to correct some things that we didn’t do well at the Bernabeu,” he said. “The result was good, more than good, but we have to do a little bit better. They gave us the last training session on Tuesday and we’re going to communicate about it and go.
Real Madrid’s thrashing last year is psychologically huge, but Guardiola doesn’t want to give in. He said: “We have to feel the tension of the fact that you don’t want to lose the game. If you think we’ve already done that, then we’re not going to go hungry to compete with those teams. It’s true that winning it made us feel bigger and more comfortable, but we want to have the right energy.
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“The rest of the people back home love us very much. Sold. We want a lot of noise and presence from them, especially in the bad moments, because, as I said before the game in Madrid, in a game of more than 90 minutes there are moments when you are bigger and moments when you have to suffer.
City struggled early in the season, but Luton’s 5-1 defeat on Saturday indicates they are at their peak just when they need it. Silva gives an explanation for the inequalities of autumn and early winter.
“A combination of other things,” he says. A team that won a hat-trick comes back with a bit of a hangover. “Gündogan, Mahrez left and it wasn’t easy to adapt, Rodri suspended [for 3 matches], a vital player for us, and Kevin De Bruyne had a long wound.
“Since [December 6] we haven’t lost a game, so we’re pleased to get to this part of the season and keep fighting for the top 3 competitions. “