Manchester City will face Inter in the Champions League final.
Manchester City 4-0 Real Madrid! 5-1 on aggregate!
The final scorecard at the Etihad Stadium is likely to shock everyone, and this night Manchester City seem to prove that on their own turf, defending champions Real Madrid are no different from Bayern and Leipzig before them.
With this campaign, Manchester City completed their revenge on Real Madrid and reached their second Champions League final after the 2020-2021 season, where their opponents will be Inter Milan.
Pep Guardiola has won 100 Champions Leagues.
Legs and heels do not hit the head
Manchester City's semi-final with Real Madrid is seen by many as an early Champions League final, with the strongest team in world football on the one hand, and the biggest team on the Champions League stage with the best at miracles on the other.
However, the second leg of this semi-final made it clear to everyone that the key to victory is hard power of the moment, not the glory of the past.
Compared to the Bernabeu a week ago, Manchester City's opening game intensity has almost increased by a level. In the first 15 minutes, Real Madrid's possession was suppressed at around 20%, and Manchester City repeatedly created kills, and if it weren't for Alaba's goalline and Thibaut Courtois' incredible close-range save, Haaland almost scored.
B Xi Jiangong.
However, they could not dodge the first one, but they could not dodge the fifteenth - in the 23rd minute, City seized the opportunity when De Bruyne's rib kick straight into the unattended B seat in the box, who scored from close range against Courtois.
After that, City continued to play in the ribs - in the 37th minute, Grealishneche's cross was blocked, and the follow-up B-seat header was added to make it 2-0.
B Xi scored twice.
Although Real Madrid almost fully retired to their own half, this defense is still full of holes in Manchester City's frequent movements and group passes.
Modric made a number of mistakes in the first half, with Kroos lifting the Champions League cup five times, but now the two masters are clearly unable to keep up.
Kroos' long-range shot from a long shot in the first half was almost the only bright spot, and more often than not, their Real Madrid midfielders could only watch their opponents eat away at their hinterland.
At the same time, Camavinga, who had a stunning performance in the last round, came on with an injury and did not bring more help to the two big brothers on the left wing...
The two masters Kroos (left) and Modric are really old.
Half-time statistics showed Manchester City shooting 13-1 and 5-0 on target. Real Madrid's front-line trident was unsupported and equally lackluster in the case of loss of control in midfield – Vinicius had zero passes in this game, Benzema had only one of eight matches, and they would be surrounded by Manchester City players almost as soon as they had the ball and then lose possession.
Carvajal said after the game: "Manchester City played better from start to finish and we backed down prematurely. ”
Indeed, Real Madrid started too far back, allowing City to have more free possession of the ball. The post-match rematch may be seen as a failure, but considering that senior players such as Modric and Kroos are at the center of attack and defense, Ancelotti also has to "save money".
Modric came off in the 60th minute of the second half, and Kroos came off less than 10 minutes later, which confirmed the manager's concern - his ace players did not have enough endurance to face Manchester City head-on, but the manager did not expect the goal to come so quickly, one loss is two.
Militão blocked De Bruyne's set-piece into his own goal.
Miracles can't happen forever
In the second half of the second half, Ancelotti replaced five players in one go, seemingly fighting for his life, but the scene did not change much.
With Militang blocking De Bruyne's set-piece into his own goal in the 76th minute, the game was decided early. In the 91st minute, the already unmotivated Real Madrid backfield was easily beaten by Manchester City to a two-by-two, and Alvarez fixed the score at 4-0.
At 4-0, it was the biggest defeat of Carlo Ancelotti's Champions League coaching career, and for most of the game the wise coach could only watch his side be ravaged by Manchester City.
Alvarez fixed the score at 4-0.
After the game, the Italian coach Capello bluntly said that the fiasco was "not a fighting": "Ancelotti should probably consider an offer from the Brazilian national team, there are currently some teams in European football that are stronger than Real Madrid..."
The implication could not be clearer, Ancelotti continues to manage such a Real Madrid team in front of him, it is difficult to return to its former glory.
Real Madrid director Butragueño also admitted after the game that Real Madrid lost to a better team, "Carlo Ancelotti has a contract, he is good, this night made us sad, but you have to admit, the opponent is stronger, that's it. ”
This season's Champions League has entered the sprint stage, compared to Manchester City has always been optimistic about the outside world, the main news around Real Madrid is whether Bellingham can be signed in the summer.
This is the current situation of this team - the core players are old and need to be replaced, and the president Florentino did not complete the change early in order to wait for the big fish, and eventually suffered a crushing defeat.
Ancelotti watched silently from the sidelines.
To some extent, Real Madrid's comeback victory a year ago also blinded too many people.
Although they overturned Chelsea, Paris and Manchester City all the way, Real Madrid came back to life every time from the edge of the cliff, scoring only one more goal than their opponents in each knockout promotion.
A year later, Manchester City welcomed new signings such as Haaland and Alvarez, Real Madrid only had a team that was one year older, in order to increase the attacking power of the main team, Ancelotti adjusted Rodrigo to the starting lineup this season, but he also lost his only backhand.
When City's two substitutes Foden and Alvarez teamed up to score the final goal, fans may be able to appreciate Ancelotti's powerlessness... Manchester City player Walker put it bluntly: "Once the threat of Vinicius is neutralized, will Real Madrid still have a plan B? ”
Manchester City, the new "Cosmos Team"
If Real Madrid are already a bit thin, then Manchester City are in full swing.
Pep Guardiola's side are currently in the last step in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, the Premier League only needs one more win to be crowned early, and both the Champions League and FA Cup have only one final left, and you have to admit that this team is strong.
With the introduction of Haaland, the last problem of the lack of a finisher in front of Manchester City's goal has been solved, and the attacking end has become more three-dimensional, and even Pep Guardiola's team can use headers to attack Real Madrid. And as the central midfield moves forward in Stones' position, Manchester City's passing control for which he was famous in the past continues to upgrade...
Watching Manchester City play, you can feel that they have been cutting through opponents, both offensively and defensively, a comprehensiveness that Manchester City did not have in the past.
Manchester City team photo after the game.
Manchester City have not lost a single Champions League so far this season, scoring 14 goals in three consecutive home games without conceding a single goal in the knockout rounds, and as they focus on fighting an uphill battle, the planet seems to be struggling to find opponents.
Speaking about last year's defeat against Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola said: "That game taught us that there are still shortcomings and room for improvement. "Manchester City have evolved today.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand revealed that Pep Guardiola sent him a text message before the game to the effect that Manchester City would definitely win the game.
'That's Pep Guardiola's belief and confidence, it's purely knowing the details of what he might have experienced in the game.'