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Years after then chief executive Garry Cooke said Manchester City were on track to become the “biggest and best club in the world”, the scoreline suggested his points. . City’s second Champions League campaign got off to a spectacular start in September 2012, a year after Cook resigned. With five minutes remaining in the opening game, Aleksandar Kolarov scored from a free kick to give the Reds a 2-1 lead. Against Real Madrid. At the Bernabéu.
Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo then scored. It was not the last goal City conceded in stoppage time at the Bernabéu, but it demonstrated Real’s ability to fight back on behalf of the established order. City failed to win a game in the Champions League, propping up their group. Real advanced to the semifinals. Even that wasn’t a success by their standards.
City, who have returned to the Spanish capital for their sixth visit in the last decade, have already won eight games this season, making it 10 in a row since their draw at the Bernabeu last year. Despite Cook’s bravado and City’s silverware, many will still name Real the biggest club in the world. However, City won the treble last year, giving them a claim to being the best team. But given the fact that they were drawn against each other, they’ll probably be the two favorites now. Even before that, each felt they had the best chance of stopping the other.
If old money and new money took different journeys to the same destination, Real were City’s nemesis and antithesis rather than a role model.
Josep Guardiola grew up at a club that rivals Real. He had won six European Cups before he was born, was a ball boy when Barcelona reached the final for the first time in his career, and a midfielder when they belatedly became champions of the continent. He said Real were the “kings of the competition” after the quarter-final draw. He has long argued that institutions with such a track record have an inherent advantage. Even when City finally won their first Champions League in Istanbul last year, he deadpanned: “We are only 13 behind them. Watch out, Real Madrid.”
Two of Real’s 14 goals came after defeating City. The Manchenians’ only decisive victory came last May when they beat Real 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Their story is the story of three semifinals. In the first game, City became too timid under manager Manuel Pellegrini, whose departure had already been confirmed upon Guardiola’s arrival, and only called up two players, complacent after a 1-0 defeat in Madrid. did. Shots on target in 180 minutes.
The 2016 victory was Real’s first hat-trick. It showed their ability to win in competition. If an era was defined by Guardiola and Barcelona, the reality is that in the 16 years since he took over at Camp Nou, both club and manager have won the Champions League three times, including This means they won together twice. Real have won the championship five times. That’s their philosophy.
The most recent win was in 2022. That ability to find ways to win was most dramatically demonstrated against City. Guardiola’s side led for 178 minutes in the semi-final before losing, but Rodrigo’s two goals in just a few minutes sparked a stunning comeback. If it’s in keeping with the theme of City being experts on the tragic way they failed to win the Champions League, it also speaks to the backdrop of last year’s 4-0 run following a first-leg draw in Spain. Delivered: Beating Real ensured there was no comeback this time, at least.
Last season, City drew with the Bernabéu. The only victory there may feel ambiguous: the fact that the return match took place more than five months later due to coronavirus and perhaps City’s worst European night under Guardiola, the quarter-final They finished 7th in Ligue 1 due to the fact that they only promoted their loss to Lyon.
Still, the 2-1 in 2020, a five-minute comeback with goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne, was something of a breakthrough result. The defeat against Lyon in the next round looks like the most unusual situation since then. This could have been the beginning of City’s rise to Europe’s elite level. Since then, they have been finalists, semi-finalists, and winners in his three subsequent seasons. Their presence in the now annual Champions League can be divided into three stages. A punitive group stage exit under coach Roberto Mancini, six seasons in which they reached the knockout stages but often lost to the first top teams they faced, and the period that followed. As a genuine candidate.
And they renewed their acquaintance with Real as equals and opposites. Barcelona has become a test for City. It’s no surprise given that they inherited Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain from the Camp Nou, laying the foundations for Guardiola’s acquisition. One peculiarity is that Real have the best English midfielder in Jude Bellingham, while City have Rodri, the outstanding Spanish midfielder.
City’s first signing during the Sheikh Mansour era was Robinho, signed by Real, but since Cook’s initial splurge, City have made little attempt to sign the Galactico. And City’s financial strength is such that Real cannot snatch away their star. There have long been theories that Sergio Aguero would happily return to the Spanish capital, but he never did. Real seem to be attracted to Erling Haaland at the moment, but it won’t be easy to sign him from City.
Perhaps the rivalry of the 21st century will take place in the transfer market. Now there is more familiarity on the pitch. Next week’s return leg will be the 12th meeting in 12 seasons. In that time, City have played as many games as Sunderland, and more than they have against Bolton, Blackburn, Leeds and Nottingham Forest (the two Sheffield clubs combined). Their match list has acquired a different look.
It might have been different. City initially handed him a two-year ban from the Champions League in 2020, 11 days before Jesus and De Bruyne attacked at the Bernabéu, but the ban was later overturned. Real was the mastermind behind the Super League plot. Instead, they became an annual battle for the Champions League and arguably their dominant duopoly. And as he has for much of his playing and managerial career, Guardiola is facing Barcelona’s nemesis. Watch out, Real Madrid.
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