Manchester City players will have to be on their toes when they face Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday. Last week, when Leicester City faced Everton in a Premier League relegation battle, the match analysts for both clubs were sitting next to me. I said to them, “Put your monitors down – it’s not about tactics tonight, it is just about avoiding any errors”. This is the same scenario at a much higher level for City versus Real.
Players can be given data and instructions for how to play a particular role or deal with a certain opponent, but they know that if they suffer one lapse in concentration then the game has changed, and maybe even been lost. This is what happened to City when they played Real in last season’s semi-final, as they were in full control of the tie heading into the 90th minute of the second leg… and still didn’t go through.
City have to be careful in the first leg at the Bernabeu, as Real can score a goal out of nothing. To keep Vinicius Jr quiet, Pep Guardiola has to decide who will go up against the Brazil winger on the right for City, and who will play further forward on the same flank. The choice in defence is between Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji, but if Nathan Ake does not recover from injury then Guardiola’s mind may be made up for him. He could go with the experience of Aymeric Laporte at left-back, but Akanji may be picked due to his performance against Bukayo Saka when he played there in last month’s 4-1 win over Arsenal.
Walker’s speed is the way to deal with Vinicius, as he is a natural full-back and has the power and understanding of how to deal with the winger’s problems. Bernardo Silva may be chosen over Riyad Mahrez on the right due to his work-rate to press when City are out of possession. City will need to press Real in the middle of the pitch, where Karim Benzema poses a threat with his clever movement. One of City’s centre-halves will have to stay tight on him when he comes deeper to collect passes, and looks to flick balls over the press and find runners like Vinicius.
City need to have everything going for them if they are to make it through to the final, as they could win in Spain and still find it tough to finish the job. Avoiding mistakes is key for Manchester City if they are to progress in this Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.