Manchester City will be able to call on the services of a “prime Zidane” in their crucial Champions League clash against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
City host Real in the second leg of the semi-final at the Etihad Stadium following a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu last week. Victory will earn them a place in the final against Inter Milan in Istanbul on June 10 and a chance to win the competition for the first time in their history.
It will be a huge occasion for Pep Guardiola’s team, who are in fantastic form, having gone 22 games in all competitions without a defeat. They also have a player hitting incredible form at the perfect time: Ilkay Gundogan.
The City captain has four goals and two assists in his past three games, having scored braces in wins over Leeds and Everton this month. His form has been so good that the German midfielder has been compared to Zinedine Zidane by fans – and Kyle Walker has picked it up and run with it.
“I've seen a few tweets and been joking with Gundo that he turns into prime Zidane in the last few months,” Walker said on Tuesday. “Sometimes you have to shine, and he does it at the business end of the season.”
Gundogan set up Kevin de Bruyne to score the crucial equaliser last week following Vinicius Junior’s stunning opener. The 32-year-old has shown a real knack for arriving in the box late to devastating effect and he comes into the second leg full of confidence.
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That feeling is pervasive throughout the squad, with City still on course for an historic treble. Guardiola’s side are on the brink of securing the Premier League title, with one win from their remaining three matches enough following Arsenal ’s 3-0 defeat by Brighton on Sunday.
City will also face the FA Cup final against Manchester United on June 3 and Walker says the squad is locked in on the objectives. “It’s big to every one of us in that dressing room, we know the goal at the end of it,” he said.
“A massive week for the club and we are in a good situation compared to two months ago in the Premier League. It’s 1-1 and we are at the Etihad where we’ve been more than confident in the UEFA Champions League to get a result. Hopefully we do that again.
“I’d have liked to do it when we played Chelsea (in the 2021 final) but it was a learning curve. This group have been together for a few years and learned to overcome situations, in winning and losing positions. I remember against Tottenham in 2019 when we thought Raheem Sterling had scored.
“We’ve gone through rough and good moments but hopefully this is the icing on the cake to put our name in the history books and put this club on the UCL map.”
