The quarter-finals of the Champions League between Real Madrid and Manchester City have long since ended, but now that I think of the two-legged battle between the two sides, I still have lingering fears. Otherwise, the contest between these two teams is an early final, and if either of the two teams is out, there is a serious feeling of discoloration in the Champions League. Of course, in terms of substance, Real Madrid is better than Manchester City N times, after all, Real Madrid is the best team in the history of the Champions League, and Manchester City has only begun to rise in the last ten years. And this time Real Madrid eliminated Manchester City, many people interpret it from the perspective of heritage, thinking that this is a victory for the traditional giants against the upstarts.
In fact, I can really talk about this. The reality is that Real Madrid eliminated Manchester City, but no matter who eliminated whom, there would be a score - 4:3.
Okay, let's start with the Champions League restructuring and expansion. Since the beginning of the new century, the Champions League has increasingly become the top stage for the competition of giants. A giant, whether their strength is strong or not, whether the background is deep or not, don't talk nonsense, just look at the Champions League results, yes. However, there is only one Champions League winner every season, and it is too extravagant to use this as a standard, so if you can take a step back, if you can reach the last four, it is already very good.
What's even better is that it has reached the semi-finals for several seasons in a row. This also means that over the years, the giant has been at the top of Europe, and has come close to winning the European championship every time.
At the beginning of the new century, Real Madrid first set an example for other giants. They started the 99-00 season and reached the semi-finals in 4 consecutive seasons. And that's not all, after six seasons of the Champions League Sixteen era, Real Madrid has started a great era, reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League for eight consecutive seasons, which is an unprecedented case in history. No team has been able to surpass it so far.
The standard of reaching the last four of the Champions League for eight consecutive seasons is too extravagant, so let's take a step back and look at the other giants. Barcelona have reached the semi-finals in six consecutive seasons, Bayern Munich has reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in five consecutive seasons, and then Manchester United and Chelsea, three times in a row.
By the way, and Manchester City.
In the Champions League in 20-21, Manchester City reached the last four, then in 21-22, 22-23, they did it. So, if they can get past Real Madrid this season, they will reach the last four of the Champions League for four consecutive seasons, and if that is the case, then Manchester City will really have a bit of a traditional giant's taste.
But alas, Real Madrid has become a real giant filter and stuck Manchester City outside. Interestingly, from the beginning of the 20-21 season to the end of last season, Real Madrid also reached the last four of the Champions League for three consecutive seasons. Therefore, Real Madrid and Manchester City, no matter who eliminated whom, the ratio of consecutive Champions League appearances in recent years is 4:3.
It's a bit of a pity that Manchester City has been in business for so many years and has become more and more of a top giant, but this time they lost to Real Madrid, they still failed to reach the Champions League semi-finals for more than 4 consecutive seasons like other top giants. And after that, even if they set sail strongly, they will have to start from scratch at this level.