Back at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City are well-deserved favourites, with a number of strong teams already sinking here. In the Champions League knockout stage, Manchester City drew 1-1 away from home for three consecutive times, and then relied on a big home victory to advance smoothly. 7-0 Leipzig, 3-0 Bayern, but no one could have imagined that Real Madrid, the "king of the Champions League", who has always been good at reversals, would lose 4-0 away from home. And he lost completely, and there was no way to fight back.
The data reflects Real Madrid's passivity and helplessness to the fullest. The possession rate was 64 in the game, but Real Madrid had only seven shots on goal, less than half that of Manchester City. There were only 3 shots on target, almost 1/3 of Manchester City's. In terms of great chances, Manchester City has 6 times, Real Madrid has 0, and the rest of the statistics are crushed across the board. It is no exaggeration to say that if it were not for Courtois's bravery, Real Madrid's defeat would have been even more ugly.
If you lose on such a top stage, you will definitely start the accountability mode after the game. The gap between the ability of Real Madrid's players and Manchester City is certainly not as big as the score reflects, so the blame of fans after the game was unanimously aimed at manager Carlo Ancelotti. It is believed that in this battle of top masters, he lost to Guardiola.
And that's exactly what happened. Manchester City, playing at home, played more aggressively and with more changes than in the previous leg. At the Bernabeu, Haaland was successfully limited by Antonio Rudiger, but Carlo Ancelotti chose Militão for this match. Although Haaland did not score, the threat factor was significantly higher than in the previous game, with multiple threatening shots approaching the score. Haaland's resurgence of form has left Real Madrid's defense exhausted, and he has to guard against breakthroughs and crosses in two ribs, as well as the threat of long-range shots in the middle.
Therefore, Real Madrid were passively beaten throughout the game, and the second boss in midfield was defending everywhere but still full of holes. The midfielder couldn't hold the ball, couldn't get the ball, Vinicius was successfully limited by Walker, Rodrigo was almost invisible, and Benzema was sleepwalking. Manchester City's side is mobilized, attacking wave after wave, while Real Madrid's side wants to struggle and resist but has no choice, and the defeat is inevitable.
But Carlo Ancelotti will not be out of class and will remain at Real Madrid for the new season. When talking about his future after the game, An Fat confirmed this. "There is no problem, I think the chairman made this clear 15 days ago (An Shuai remains). This is one step in preparing for next season. I will stay with the team next season and fight for the next Champions League trophy. ”
To be honest, although there are many doubts, no change in this game can stop this Manchester City team. It's not a question of not starting at all, with Manchester City now in the top five leagues, let alone their home stadium.
But to fight for the Champions League title next season, Real Madrid are starting the summer window now. This fiasco is also equivalent to blowing the clarion call for Real Madrid's comprehensive reconstruction, and the past glory has become history. The current competitive situation is tough, the opponents are growing by leaps and bounds, and Real Madrid's squad is in desperate need of new blood, while the center and midfield are imminent.
Last season, thanks to Benzema's supernatural performance, Real Madrid came back to the final in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Benzema's form has dropped significantly this season, with his direct involvement in scoring almost half of the same period last season. Last year's several consecutive supergods were already precious, and it was impossible to expect Benzema to supergod every year, after all, he was 35 years old. But apart from Benzema, there is no qualified substitute for the centre-forward position. Mariano left at the end of the season when his contract expired, and Real Madrid will definitely bring in a new centre-forward.
Although Brazil's talented attacker Ndrik joined in the summer window of '24, Real Madrid can't expect a kid who just turned 18. Therefore, whether to directly bring in a centre forward who can replace Benzema this summer, or to bring in a transitional center to share the pressure of Benzema, is a question that Real Madrid's top management needs to consider.
The other position is midfield. Many fans thought that Chuameni should be on this pitch to increase his midfield interception, but this is all hindsight. Even more valuable than that is the need for Real Madrid to be aware of the ageing midfield, no matter how strong Modric is 37 years old and Kroos is 33, the physical fitness cannot be compared to when they were younger. Both midfielders were replaced before 70 minutes. Therefore, it is urgent that the midfield continues to be younger. Bellingham is the ideal target and Real Madrid are already in action.
Strengthen the center and midfield, and Real Madrid's squad will be stronger. But to win over mighty Manchester City in the Champions League, they may need to do more this summer.