by There was excitement in a corner at the top of one of the stands of the Bernabeu as the chorus rang out. “City, the best team in the world,” became a chant that felt more based on the past than the light before their eyes. It came as Manchester City’s annual trip to the Bernabeu turned out to be a quiet affair, on a day when they looked as if they had faded and faded as well.
90 minutes later, the same song rang out. The audience was diverse, including some representatives of the City in an otherwise deserted land, but such was the tone. If there was more faith, there was a reason for it.
By scoring an away goal against the team, many would consider the second best on the planet to be strengthening their case; eliminate Real Madrid next week and he will feel stronger again. And if there was an illogical aspect to the beauty of City’s goals – Pep Guardiola’s playing style is characterized more by short passing than long-range shooting – a hat-trick of spectacular strikes by the Bernabeu than most sides. ten years, not to mention a night.
Real and City are one of Europe’s newest contenders: Bernardo Silva had already etched his name in folklore but now he has another entry, joined by Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol.
And yet a game in which the lead changed hands with suddenness and regularity produced mixed results. It was perhaps the kind of game where City proved their mettle, where they overcame all obstacles, from Kevin de Bruyne’s late withdrawal to Real’s electrifying first half, aided by Guardiola’s tactical brilliance.
Or maybe it was the kind of game to offer a preview of how empires fall. Real highlighted some of the shortcomings in this City side; if Guardiola’s side haven’t dominated Europe for years, as some predicted after their third last year, it’s possible to look back on a six-goal thriller at the Bernabeu and see signs of where it was heading. evil . Scoring a wonder goal is not a foolproof formula, which is hugely entertaining as it was; City could easily have been 3-1 down before Foden scored their second.
City have rarely looked as open, as open as they did before the break but they have not been very strong at the back this season. Their recent record stands at two clean sheets in nine games; go back further and it’s 10 in 31. City conceded three goals in the Champions League final last season. They surrendered three in one night in Madrid.
If balance is unclear since Ilkay Gundogan left, control is more fragile. “It’s impossible to control all the time against Real Madrid,” said Guardiola. The question, however, was how weak City looked when they lost control. It was, according to Guardiola, the kind of night they would have been eliminated in previous years. “This result or this game in the first three seasons together, we would have lost 4-1 or 5-1,” he said. “We weren’t emotionally stable.”
If recovery resulted from an improved attitude, management intervention and individual inspiration took place. The sense that Guardiola is working with smaller tools in the middle of the field was highlighted: the specific department of most of his team but, if Mateo Kovacic was still at Real, he would be in charge of Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric , Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni in the long queue for places. Increasingly averse to using substitutes, Guardiola made no changes until the 87th minute, but his options were reduced.
De Bruyne was slated to start until he hit the ground and started vomiting. City were without a captain, vice-captain, defender and most consistent goalkeeper. “Slim [Walker] not here. Nathan [Ake] not here. Kevin can’t play,” listed Guardiola, without even passing on Ederson. “We’re playing with 11. I’d rather have them here.”
In the circumstances, the draw produced a better result. “One of the secrets at the highest level is to adapt quickly to chaos,” reasoned Guardiola. “There’s no time to complain.” He didn’t. Minus four key players, there was ingenuity with the way he reorganized, bringing John Stones and Silva into midfield. In a way, it was a triumph of the system and philosophy to come back.
But City are relying more on individuals this season.
Two of their big players were ineffective: Erling Haaland, as he has been in too many big games, and Rodri, uncharacteristically. Individuals provided salvation, with magical moments. Great, yes; Sustainable? The statistics suggest that, but the way it is done may suggest otherwise.
City left the Bernabeu unbeaten in the Champions League for 22 games and almost two years, unbeaten in all competitions for 25 games. It is the record of the best, and a night in which the two showed that they could stay that way or they could be removed from the perch.
