Manchester City: Will the Etihad Stadium scene follow the shipwreck at the Bernabeu?

Conditions on the biggest day in Manchester City’s European history couldn’t be more bleak. Heavy rain and 7,968 spectators at Vienna’s Prater Stadium saw Sky Blue win the European Cup Winners’ Cup 2–1 final on 29 April 1970 against Gornick Zabrze.

“We started well and could have done it already,” said City star Phil Foden. “We have to make better use of our opportunities.” Since that didn’t work out at the Etihad, the first-class dream could explode again – as it has for ten straight years.

The billions invested by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the main shareholder of the club since 2009, were mainly made to win the Champions League title. Against Madrid, Guardiola’s pick is clearly a favourite after this season’s performance.

fact. Because Real, along with Liverpool FC, is perhaps the only team that has the tools to bring Manchester City to its knees.

Eurosport.de names the top three reasons:

1.) Cibeles the Fountain of Youth

“It’s a lot of feelings for me,” right winger Rodrigo said after the celebration in Cibeles. An experience that will unleash an additional force against Manchester City (Wednesday from 9:00 pm on the live tape at Eurosport.de). Coach Carlo Ancelotti’s side could not gain more self-confidence – Sibelis as a kind of fountain of youth for the royal team.

2.) Benzema factor

The forward’s hymns of praise did not stop for weeks. That’s right. Karim Benzema is Real’s offensive life insurance. The Frenchman has scored in eight of his ten Champions League matches this season, 14 times in total. Benzema has scored nine goals in the past four knockout matches. “It was hard to find words for what he’s doing – week after week,” said teammate David Alaba. “Especially this season, it’s incredible and we’re really happy that he’s with us.”

In the second leg, the goalkeeper announced that he would do “something magical” with the team. It cannot be excluded that the attacker will then take the full risk again. “I have great confidence in myself,” Benzema explained. This means that strokes of genius like Banenka’s penalty are crowned with success.

3.) Manchester’s hidden weakness

Even more surprising was the statement of coach Guardiola, who revealed what may be the only weakness of his players shortly before Christmas. “We are not good defenders individually,” the Spaniard explained. In fact, it is noticeable that City did not perform well defensively in singles matches. Especially when the opponent was also looking for possession or was able to create counterattacks. Guardiola faces the problem with a ball-oriented style of play.

The 51-year-old said: “The ball is the only reason for your stability. When your midfielders have possession of the ball, you are stable behind them and you have good chances to move forward in the match.” With this, Manchester managed to hide the secret weakness in the defense. Only: Real Madrid also masters this system with their excellent midfield squad. The more possession the home team has at the Bernabéu, the more dangerous it is for the city’s defence.