Real Madrid – Manchester City in the opening leg of their quarterfinal match at the Bernabéu. This matchup is a replay of the 2023 UEFA Champions League semifinal. These two European heavyweights are competing in this tournament for the third year in a row; in a thrilling last-four match last year, City prevailed 5-1 on aggregate.
Joško Gvardiol, the defender, is a serious doubt for City. After being substituted out of the 4-2 victory over Crystal Palace at halftime due to injury. However, the fit-again Ederson might start in goal for the guests in place of Stefan Ortega.
UEFA Champions League 2023-24 quarterfinal first leg clash between Real Madrid – Manchester City
Tuesday night’s match between Real Madrid – Manchester City in the Champions League was supposed to be avenged. Things didn’t go as planned at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The opening matchup between Manchester City and Real Madrid takes place at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday. This season’s encounter will be City and Madrid’s third consecutive meeting.
In their glorious 2021–22 season, Los Blanco’s prevailed in the semifinals, and the following year. Man City won on its way to its first Champions League victory. There will be another intriguing Champions League match in the Spanish capital. After these matchups saw 17 goals scored in their previous four meetings. At an average of 4.3 goals per game (seven for Real Madrid, 10 for Man City).
Performance of Real Madrid in the first half had a lot of positives
After giving up an early goal due to strange circumstances and getting off to the worst start imaginable—a yellow card for Aurelien Tchouameni—Real Madrid gained momentum and began to punish Manchester City’s high line, winning the match as everyone had hoped. It’s obvious that they realized their errors from the previous season’s second leg. To the point where I was taken aback that between Real Madrid – Manchester City, Real Madrid did not win this game.
Although Real was the superior team and had more opportunities, they were unable to capitalize on them, which was unfortunate because, at least in the first half, they gave a performance that deserved to be rewarded. Los Blanco’s, however, have the blueprint they need to prepare for the second leg after this game, especially the first half: wide and high up the pitch to start, forcing the goalkeeper to play it straight to Erling Haaland, then quickly recover possession and hurt their backline in transitions and through long passes. Real Madrid applied excellent pressure, and as it began to wear off, City was able to reenter the game.
A shout-out to Antonio Rudiger of Real Madrid
Rudiger’s status as the world’s top center back was solidified by this victory. This season, I don’t think it’s really close. Excellent performances all year long, winning headers, commanding the defense, understanding when to take a risk and when to back off, and—above all—stepping up to the plate. Although Rudiger’s performances always seem to be at the top of their game, there was something about this one that felt particularly unique. It felt like it was more significant than most, even if it may not have been his best—though one could argue that it was.
Rudiger was ablaze, just like the last time City was at the Bernabeu. He played so many excellent long balls from the back, closed off so many vital opportunities, and pocketed Erling Haaland with precision. Without a doubt, he was among the top players on the field. In addition to having amazing off-ball tracking, mobility, and defensive awareness, he also had amazing stats: three tackles gained, two interceptions, three successful clearances, and another win in the rivalry with Haaland.
