A brand new rivalry is shaping up in European football and tonight a UEFA Champions League Semi-final 1st leg clash between Manchester City and Real Madrid could well become a battle for the ages. It will be a replay of last year’s semi-final where Los Blancos produced a late comeback in the second leg before getting hands to their 14th UCL title.
This year the stakes have increased further more. While Carlo Ancelotti’s men are looking to win a second trophy this season, Pep Guardiola’s brigade are aiming to complete a Treble for the first time in the club’s history. Manchester City are currently chasing the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League at the same time.
They are currently a point ahead of Arsenal in the Premier League table with a game in hand. For the first time in FA Cup history, the finale will feature a Manchester Derby on 3rd June and if City beat Madrid over the 2 legs, their Treble hopes will escalate further more.
Real Madrid on the other hand won their first trophy of the season in the form of Copa Del Rey as they defeated Osasuna in the final by 2-1. They are already out of the race for La Liga this year and it is a perfect situation for them as UEFA Champions League is the only competition to play for this term.
One of the reasons why it is going to be a battle for the ages is that both teams contain same dangerous prospects who have been breathing fire all season. From Madrid’s perspective, their attacking trio of Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo will be a huge threat to City’s defense.
The trio still haunt Man City as these 3 players scored all of Madrid’s 6 goals in Semis last year and Guardiola’s men must not expect anything less than that. Real Madrid have scored 25 goals in UCL this year (1 less than City). Benzema, Vini Jr and Rodrygo accounted for 15 out of the 25 goals and 10 of them have come in the knockout rounds alone.
Vinicius Jr is currently the leading assist provider with 6 and he has also scored 6 goals. Benzema, the current Ballon D’or holder has had a quiet time in UCL as he has found the back of the net only 4 times while Rodrygo has netted 5 goals.
Their main 2 players will be David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger at the heart of Madrid’s defense as they will be aiming to stop a Manchester City team which has bagged the most goals in not just the UCL but also in Premier League. City have bagged 26 goals in UCL and 45% of them have been scored by none other than Erling Haaland who has 51 goals in all competitions this year.
Haaland is just 6 goals away from the record of most goals in an UCL season which is held by Cristiano Ronaldo with 17 goals. The Norwegian’s presence gives City a good chance to upset the Madridistas who will be without Eder Militao for the 1st leg.
After Haaland, Argentinian World cup winner Julian Alvarez will also be an X Factor. Most of his appearances came as a substitute but he has been able to amass 15+ G/A in 37 match in all competitions. Alvarez possess pace and unpredictability which Pep tried against Fulham in their 2-1 win at Craven Cottage.
With Kevin De Bruyne behind them, City’s chances of bursting into Madrid’s box can maximize. The Belgian International is on a red-hot form this season, scoring Bangers out of the box or teeing up for Haaland, De Bruyne is the leading Premier League assist provider with 15 and in UCL he has one less (5) than Vini Jr (6).
While KDB and Haaland have accounted for 45+ goals this season, City have become a force and if their defense stands up for entire 180 minutes, Pep and Co. will be entering their 2nd final in 3 years while Ancelotti’s men are aiming to extend their dominance further more if they end up with a 15th UEFA Champions League Trophy.
