Manchester City bow out of the Champions League to Real Madrid, despite all the chances created on the pitch it was a shootout that was needed to decide who will meet Bayern Munich in the next round.

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Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid Review

Champions League

MOTM: Kevin De Bruyne (MCFC) | Andriy Lunin (RCM)

Notable Stats:

• After the draw against Real Madrid last night, Manchester City have equaled their longest ever unbeaten run in all competitions (28) and their longest ever unbeaten home run in all competitions (42).

• Real Madrid have eliminated the reigning UEFA Champions League title-holders six times in knockout ties. Twice as often as any other side int he competition’s history.

• Kevin De Bruyne has eight goal involvements (4 goals, 4 assists) against Real Madrid in the Champions League, the joint most of any player.

Talking Points:

• Here is how Manchester City lined up for the game against Real Madrid, this time seeing Kyle Walker back at RB to deal with Vinicius and Akanji in the place of John Stones. Presumably not fit enough to start.

• This is the lineup from Real Madrid and also the average positions throughout the match which tells it’s only story. Real Madrid came to the Etihad knowing that they needed to suffer defensively if they wanted to win the game.

• The goal by Real Madrid starts with a brilliant touch by Jude Bellingham. The offside initially seemed to be in the favor of City but in reality Kyle Walker plays Vinicius onside. Ruben Dias is unable to stop the cross coming in and Kyle Walker doesn’t pick up Rodrygo at the back post. Very good save by Ederson for the first shot but no chance for the follow up.
  
  One thing Madrid did very well in the first half was having their forwards moving across the back line before making a run in behind. Vinicius did this a couple times and the City CBs didn’t know who was meant to follow.

• Manchester City had their success in the first half with Akanji getting into very good positions as the spare man, picking up the space left by Kroos pulled out wide. Happening twice in the opening 20 minutes as Foden drags Mendy wide, passes to Akanji who puts KDB in for a low cross.
  
  But they didn’t make any of those count. An important point when it comes to gaining that spare man in possession is WHO that player is. Akanji had some good moments like this one below in the second half but also got caught on the ball in others. Not the same courage you’d see from a midfielder in those positions.

• Below Akanji is getting the ball in a promising position in the final third but instead of driving into the box he dwells on the ball, gets caught and turns it over.

• This pass to Grealish was always on for Manchester City last night and they did use but didn’t exploit the space well enough. City had control but not enough risk.
  
  Jeremy Doku coming on in the second half did attack that space more frequently but when the ball made it into the box the City players did not take those chances.
  
  Carvajal and Rudiger blocked 9 City shots. Carvajal made the most defensive actions in the entire match (21). That side was there to be got at but Real Madrid did a good job to defend that space with Carvajal having an excellent game.

• In the second half City turned it up on Real Madrid with Bernardo Silva holding the width and Foden remaining in the central spaces. Madrid struggled to get out of their half.
  
  The downside to this was City not pulling the midfielders out of position like we saw in the first half. If they wanted to get the best chances through the middle then Kroos and Camavinga had to be drawn away like we saw in the last three games between the two teams. That they didn’t do well enough in this game.

Manchester City failed to make their dominance matter on Wednesday night and punish Real Madrid who spent a vast majority of the second half in their own box. Defending for their lives because there was nothing else they could do. Across the two legs there is no argument over who was the better team but seizing your chances to score is something City have struggled with throughout this season and it’s came back to bite them when it matters most. A missed opportunity.

That being said, coming off the back of a treble win last season, I cannot help but feel relaxed following the defeat. Knowing that the team have a chance to do a double and win four Premier League titles in a row. All whilst knowing that the transfer window of 2023 was less than ideal.

Manchester City are in the mix for a historic season and their flaws in personal and system have shown up throughout. But we cannot fault the team’s effort in continuing to work hard and be in contention after last seasons’s monumental high.

On Saturday at Wembley we go again.

Moving Forward:

• Next for Manchester City is a trip to Wembley against Chelsea, in the FA Cup semi finals, for a chance to make the final and keep a double on this season. A game that will see Chelsea fired up for, City needing to rotate and bounce back from the midweek knockout. We will learn about the players mentality more than anything on Saturday.

• The next league game after that doesn’t get any easier with a trip to Brighton on Thursday night. A team City have struggled to beat away from home and a must win given both Liverpool and Arsenal are likely to be ahead by then.

• One takeaway from me this game is that this team in the summer needs to nail it’s transfer targets. Refresh the team and fill in the holes in the squad. We’ve only seen those holes continually exposed throughout the season, no more misses this summer is a MUST.

Interesting Links

• Markstatsbot - Manchester City vs Real Madrid

• Sky Blue Times - The Spare Man - Thread on Manuel Akanji and his performance against Real Madrid.

• Relevo article on how Real Madrid survived against Manchester City here.

• The Athletic article on the missed opportunity for Manchester City here.

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