I wasn’t expecting this score line, thought a 1-1 draw or maybe 1-0 RM or maybe a little bit more caged affair. Didn’t go that way. Real played mostly on the break or transitions, using the pace of Vini or Rodrygo and to some extent Valverde or Camavinga. Man city got a great opening and then Real got two goals, i have to say they got lucky to some extent particularly for the first goal. Then city scored two golazos, Foden kind of expected as he is scoring banger quite a lot, but wasn’t expecting for Gvardiol. On the other side, Valverde is pretty much is known for that, i wasn’t really surprised. But i was surprised see him that open, Kovacic was laboring, didn’t cover him.
- Haaland was tightly marked by Rudiger, either he couldn’t go through or whenever he got, he was fouled. Also, Haaland was kind of playing for the team, he was opening up shooting lane by dragging the defender, that gives Foden a little bit more space and opening to make those shot. So, Haaland kind of taking for the team, good for the team but not favoring him individually. But that’s being part of playing as No. 9, he could score bunch of goals anyway. Man city might also have to work out a way to let him score, maybe Guardiola will figure out something next season.
- Man city’s defense is leaking goal, they are not very solid for a while and it continues. They definitely struggling against the pace and keeping space open. I would say absence of Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake does have some effect to it, particularly you need Kyle Walker to handle pacy winger.
- Man city made bunch of uncharacteristic miss passes and lost the ball in the midfield. Real Madrid also blocked or intercepted bunch of their passes. As a result, they were able to make those quick transitions. Rodri did not play to his standard, slightly sloppy and not very sharp today.
- Real Madrid played exactly the way they play, they are never out of the game and you don’t know what they could do, they have always some degree of luck and they always pulls rabbit of the bag.
- The late cameo by Modric really helped them at the end, he was running very fast, drove the ball forward forward as usual. He is a real asset for Real to get them out of sticky situation.
For the next leg, if De Bruyne and possibly Kyle Walker comes back, it will give City some edge. If they could some of Real quick transition play(very hard though), they might get through. Who knows, it might even go the penalties.
Grealish is performing well, fulfilling Guardiola's expectations by demonstrating control, driving the ball forward, drawing fouls, keeping defenders guessing, and delivering accurate crosses and cutbacks while occasionally taking shots. This season, however, Man City's cutbacks and crosses seem less effective; perhaps this is due to Gundogan's absence or teams being aware of Haaland as their primary target. Additionally, Foden often opts for driving into the box from the flanks rather than positioning himself in the penalty area. Doku offers an alternate attacking direction, but he needs to develop further and will likely play primarily in league games for now.