Manchester City were without Kyle Walker to handle Vinicius Junior and Real Madrid went after that weakness by pushing Rodrygo and Bellingham over to the left side. Still, City left Madrid with a draw and will feel confident of progressing to the semi finals whilst Real Madrid will feel this was a wasted opportunity to win…

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Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City Match Review

Champions League

MOTM: Josko Gvardiol

Other candidates: Phil Foden

Notable Stats:

• Phil Foden has scored in each of his last five starts in the UEFA Champions League, the joint longest run by an English player in the competition with Steven Gerrard (five in 2007-08).

• Despite the combined xG in the match being just 1.5 there were six goals scored between Real Madrid and Manchester City. The biggest differential in any of the 114 games in the UEFA Champions League this season.

• This is only the fourth time in the UEFA Champions League that both teams have scored 3+ goals in the first leg of two-legged knockout stage tie. Previous instance was between Manchester City and Real Madrid in 2021/22.

Main Takeaways:

• Here is the starting lineup from Manchester City after Kevin De Bruyne pulled out late due to illness. Foden given the run in the middle of the park. Akanji with a big task on his hands without Walker in the team and Gvardiol made a last minute start.

• Real Madrid starting lineup looked like this, Rodrygo moving over to the left side this time to exploit the opportunity without Kyle Walker. That’s exactly what they went after in the first half, creating a number of breaks that you’ll notice start with Manchester City players either dwelling on the ball or not being aggressive enough off it.
  
  You can see that mistake by John Stones below, giving Vinicius Jr the time to turn and make the pass through to Rodrygo, eventually scoring the second goal.

• I’d love to see Jack Grealish do better in these situations, that come up in the many games when he cuts inside to his right foot. Most of the time they get blocked as he takes too long to shoot. It’ll increase his goal output and it will also make him even more unpredictable for defenders to deal with.

• This space on the left side without Kevin De Bruyne in the team seemed wasted on the night but could be something to watch out for in the second leg. Carvajal is always pushing high and leaving it. That’s where the first goal came from, Grealish being fouled running into that space and where the first Haaland chance started from.

• Switches from right to left is something City have to be aware of in the next match, Vinicius having this chance after he’s put through by Rodrygo. Akanji stretched moving over to adjust.

• The second half saw City be more ambitious and do much better at opening up space in and around the Madrid midfield. Either side of Camavinga. For the goal by Foden, Bernardo draws the opposition to him before passing to Stones. He knows Phil is free to eventually shoot.

• For the goal by Gvardiol we see something similar on the left side, Grealish doing what he does best by drawing in the opposition players. Foden and Stones were both open in the middle and you can also see Bernardo drifting into the box. Gvardiol arrives and after taking a poor touch, as he put it, shoots with his weaker foot and scores.

• Modric was fantastic in the final ten minutes of the game driving Real Madrid up the pitch and providing several quality passes in the final third. Putting Vinicius Junior in the position to make the cross to Valverde. If the game is undecided for the last ten minutes at the Etihad then next time Modric could be the difference off the bench.

• Ederson would be a consideration for me in the second leg, starting against Luton Town and then put him in on Wednesday night. The reason being his distribution under the pressure. Ortega was firing cannons out to his wingers where Ederson, whilst being pressed, will float those passes out, giving them the time to take advantage of the space.

• If I am trying to keep it very simple for City in the second leg then it’s first to defend the transitions better, both in numbers being back (seen in the second half) and being more aggressive off the ball. Second is being more ambitious, you must be brave enough to take risks and the opportunities afford to you. Something City did much better in the second half. Both Kyle Walker and De Bruyne returning to the lineup will bring those qualites.

Moving Forward:

• Heading into the weekend, Manchester City will take on Luton Town and no doubt changes will be needed. To stay fresh for the second leg against Madrid by having key players rotated. Here is an idea of how that line up could look. 👇

• Rodri absolutely must get a full rest against Luton Town on Saturday, his last chance before the end of the season. You can follow players minutes this season here. Other candidates include Phil Foden, John Stones, Grealish and Bernardo.

• The players returning from injury in Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker are yet to have return dates confirmed so we are unlikely to see either of them against Luton Town.

• Tchouameni is the only Real Madrid player that got suspended for the second leg via yellow cards. That’ll force Madrid to bring in either Nacho or Militao (rushed) at centre back.

• For the second leg, the tie is very well set up for the neutral and slightly in favor of Manchester City. Returning to the Etihad level despite missing Kyle Walker through injury. Having to deal with KDB dropping out late. It’s clear where Madrid will choose to exploit City on Wednesday night and they must be better prepared from the start.

Interesting Moments and Links

• Post-match interview of Gvardiol with Man City.

• Our thread on the match takeaways through stills.

• Markstatsbot breakdown of the stats.

• Evolution of Rodri role this season.

This week I was on the Ninety Three Twenty podcast to dissect the Real Madrid game, you can check out that in the link below. 👇

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