Righto, Jamie Jackson’s report is with us.
That means we’re done here, so thanks all for your company and comments, sorry I couldn’t get to them all; peace.
As we said at the start, both City and Madrid are in transition. But at the moment, it’s Madrid with the transcendental individuals, and that’s what won them the tie.
I didn’t have time to note it when it happened, but after Vinicius thought he’d scored on 90+1, he celebrated by striking a pose and Donnarumma tried to pull him away. Not his place so to do, in mine.
Elsewhere, Arsenal have beaten Leverkusen 2-0 on the night, 3-1 on aggregate, while PSG have won 3-0 at Chelsea and 8-2 on aggregate. Thanks for coming lads, all the best to you and yours.
So it’s Sporting v Arsenal, Madrid v Bayern or Atalanta and PSG v Galatasaray or Liverpool.
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FULL TIME: Manchester City (1) 1-2 (5) Real Madrid
Madrid win going away. City gave it a decent go tonight, even when down to 10, but they’ve been well beaten overall and look a fair way off seriously challenging for this trophy.
GOAL! Manchester City (1) 1-2 (5) Real Madrid (Vinicius 90+3)
Ohhhh no they don’t, Tchouameni rolls back a pass and using its pace to sweep in a cross, Vinicius meeting it delightfully on the half-volley, opening up his body and left foot while no-looking the other way. Lovely behaviour.
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NO GOAL! Manchester City (1) 1-1 (4) Real Madrid
Vinicius was offside and City escape the ignominy of losing both legs.
GOAL! Manchester City (1) 1-2 (5) Real Madrid (Vinicius 90+1)
A cross from the right, then Valverde retrieves, might shoot, but as we know, he’s “generous”, so he guides a sidefooter into the middle, Vinicius bumps goalwards, and when he hits Donnaruma, he’s able to roll home the rebound.
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90+1 min We’ll have three additional minutes.
90 min Doku is still at it, winning yet another corner. I’ve really enjoyed his performance tonight, and if he can keep whizzing crosses to the near post and cut-back to the second six-yard box, Haaland might soon resume scoring at his accustomed rate.
87 min City have had their moments in this tie, but Madrid fully deserve their passage, riding out difficult moments at the start to produce the transcendental brilliance that settled things. I can’t wait for their tie with Bayern, who are as good as through; meantime, Arsenal are almost through to meet Sporting, having been treated very kindly by both Champions League and FA Cup draws this season.
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85 min Oh my complete and utter days! “With this tie drifting to a close,” begins Kári Tulinius, “here is some extraordinary news. CAF have retroactively awarded the 2025 Afcon title to Morocco. Brahim Diaz will be getting a gold medal in the mail, presumably.”
Wow, wow, wow! I can’t say I’m exactly shocked, as you can’t have teams sulking off the pitch if things go against them, a point that needs reinforcing before the World Cup. But confiscating a trophy hasn’t happened, I don’t think, since Calciopoli, and just this week, we saw Chelsea punished for cheating but allowed to keep the titles it delivered.
83 min Madrid come again, Donnarumma saving from Vinicius, then from someone else, I didn’t see who, then Valverde slides into the unguarded net, and the flag goes up. Meantime, VAR checks the shirt-pull on Mbappe, and I think Ait-Nouri lets go a split-second before he makes it into the area … but is it a red card? If you’re asking me, I can’t fathom a reason it isn’t, but the officials decide not.
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81 min In comms, they discuss whether the Prem isn’t as good as we think, more on which in a second because Vinicius has fed a ball down the line for Mbappe, whose first touch takes him away from Ait-Nouri … who chases after him, pulling his shirt as he sets to shoot, then letting go. No penalty, says the ref, the defender doing just little enough to avoid punishment.
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80 min Beaten by a through-pass, Alexander-Arnold yanks back Marmoush and is booked. I’d have been tempted to let that go if I was him – this tie is over, and he’l not want a suspension later in the competition.
78 min Again Doku goes at Alexander-Arnold, cutting back for Cherki, whose shot is blocked, then Cherki digs out a cross for Ait-Nouri, who heads home … from an offside position.
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76 min Mbappe is booked – for what I’ not sure, as my picture jumped.
76 min Ah, when Madrid made those changes, City replaced Rodri with Gonzalez.
76 min “Bernardo Silva,” begins Jonathan Griggs. “13 goals and 13 assists in 51 games in 2018-19. I am at a loss as to why this is considered the second best statistical season in the Premier League. Based on what parameters? Can someone enlighten me please?”
Did anyone say that was the case? I though the judgment was impressionistic, not data-driven.
74 min Changes for Madrid: Camavinga and Angel replace Thiago and Guler, their jobs done.
73 min Doku hasn’t stopped trying to make stuff happen, winning another corner, and I wonder if this is low-key a breakthrough match for him. Rather than constantly attack his man, he’s mixing it up really well now, able to threaten inside and out, passes and crosses; a proper winger.
71 min Now City win a corner … which Lunin punches clear. So far, this has been an impeccable piece of reserve goalie-ing.
70 min City make first contact with the corner, but Mbappe, lurking on the right side of the box, measures it on to his instep, volleying … just wide.
69 min Alexander-Arnold swigs the corner in and Tchouameni is up at the near post, glancing a header that Donnarumma does really well to turn over the bar because that came at hi quickly.
69 min Change for Madrid, Mbappe replacing Diaz.
68 min Khusanov scuds a low shot just wide, then Alexander-Arnold lasers a pass to Vinicius on the left of the box, but he takes his time deciding on his next move and when the ball reaches Fran, his cross is blocked by Khusanov, who’s played well tonight.
65 min “Two things epitomise how Haaland’s last few months have gone,” reckons Joshua Keeling. “Being taken off in the derby and now in this game, when City were/are desperate for goals.
City in general haven’t been awful in that period, but it seems like the way Guardiola has rejigged the team just doesn’t suit Haaland. And because the team was previously rejigged to suit Haaland, they haven’t got as many goals among the rest of the team as they used to have either.”
IU’m surprised Caherki has featured less recently, because he’s someone I’d imagine could deliver the passed slipped in behind on which Haaland thrives, while Doku has served him well from out wide tonight. But they’re no longer dominating every game with 65% possession, so don’t have the same scope to create that they once did.
63 min So City counter, Cherki dribbling deep into the Madrid half at inside-left before feeding a pass in behind that perhaps might’ve come sooner. Doku draws the keeper then slides by him and into the net, but the flag then goes up.
62 min Back with our game, Vinicius goes through and Donnarumma comes out but daren’t make a challenge, so Vinicius tries to ruin into him, winning a corner … which comes to nowt.
62 min Oh and Chelsea now trail 3-0 on the night, 8-2 on aggregate. This is a proper doing.
61 min Declan Rice has scored a lovely goal to put Arsenal 2-0 up on the night ant 3-1 up on aggregate. Leverkusen had their chance last week and, I’m afraid to say, blew it at the last.
60 min I wonder if the signing of Semenyo was the beginning of a change in style for City, and if in the future, they may move to a pivot-style of centre-forward; he is not an obvious provider for Haaland, who might need to develop his game to stay in situ.
58 min “Bernardo Silva gave the second best individual season in the Premier League in the modern era in 2018-19, second only to De Bruyne’s the season before,” reckons Christopher Faherty. “Him and his manager are a fair old chalk off that now.”
That’s a very bold claim and not one with which I can agree. Salah last season, Cantona in 95-96, Henry various times, Van Nistelrooy 02-03, Ronaldo 06-07 and 07-08 were all better, in mine.
57 min Two more changes for City, Semenyo and Marmoush on for Haaland and Nunes.
55 min City have looked good with 10 men, but Madrid send a ball into space, Diaz after it … so out of nowhere, Khusanov glides alongside and confiscates possession. His recovery pace is some extreme behaviour.
53 min Madrid, four points off Barcelona in The La Liga, play Atletico at the weekend so, understandably, are taking heat out of the game, knocking the ball about … and Rudiger giving it away passing out of defence. Ake pounces, finds Cherki who finds Haaland, and again, Lunin must beat clear when the shot comes in, before Rodri – who’s had several attempts on goal tonight – drills wide.
51 min “I reckon it will be mutually beneficial for both parties if Pep calls time at the end of the season,” reckons Kevin Wilson. “Pep’s style of old feels like from a bygone era and he doesn’t really have the squad for it now (recent recruitment has been pretty scattergun and unsuccessful). They’ve a pipeline of domestic talent they should make better use of. Get someone like Iraola in and rebuild.”
I wrote this earlier in the week but I’m not sure Iraola’s style scales up to a team seeking to dominate – much as i admire him. If Guardiola left, I’m really not sure where City would go, but the two outstanding candiadtes are Lis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann, I guess.
50 min Doku has played well tonight, picking really clever passes, and with Alexander-Arnold expecting to be run it, instead he punches a square pass to Haaland who shoots … and Lunin parries really well, the rebound falling back to the Norwegian Les Dawson … who shoots over.
48 min Looking at how City have reorganised, Khusanov is at right-back with Guehi in the middle; Ake has gone to left-back, Nunes right-midfield, and Ait-Nouri left.
46 min Thiago plays a clever pass around the corner for Vinicius, who has Diaz inside him, pleading for a pass. But instead he tries a curler which won’t come back enough, and the ball flies wide.
46 min We go again.
Ch ch changes: Lunin, the hero in the 2024 semi, replaces the wonderful Courtois in the Madrid goal, while City send on Ake and Guehi for Dias and Reijnders.
“What’s wrong with Haaland,” says Ben Barclay, “is Pep has set up City too narrow, with the wrong players inside, so nary a cross for service, nor a clever passing sequence to feed from.
What’s wrong with the officiating is that changing the offside call to accommodate a penalty is weak, and with the ball not going in, Bernardo didn’t prevent a goalscoring opportunity.
Real Madrid are a shadow of their former selves, but still the horror living under Pep’s bed every night.”
Bernardo stopped the ball going in, and if it wasn’t offside, had the ball gone it, it would’ve been a goal.
“This game reminds me of the Ronaldo hat-trick game at Old Trafford in 2003,” returns Niall Mullen. “The concept of defending seems to have disappeared and the team who were obviously getting eliminated have had a gazillion chances. Vini J is ruining my analogy though by not getting a Brazilian hat-trick in Manchester (yet).”
Yes, Madrid won that tie in the first leg, delivering a performance that was not in keeping with their work before it that season. Of course, they then got Nedveded in the semis.
Half-time reading: catch yourself up on the action from elsewhere.
HALF-TIME: Manchester City (1) 1-1 (4) Real Madrid
A breathless first half, full of lovely attacking play, last-ditch defending and fine goalkeeping. At the end of it, City, down to 10, are on the brink.
45+4 min Khusanov steps across and into Vinicius, so he’s booked; Dias then has a little headrush, getting involved with the aforementioned before the ref calls him and Valverde together as captains, hoping to calm things down.
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45+2 min “I confess to being quite amused by what’s just happened to Bernardo Silva,” writes Joshua Keeling. “One of those low-key snide players who alway seems to get away with it.”
I admire it, even if no one will ever compare to Fernandinho, whose ability to commit yellow-card fouls, repeatedly, without receiving yellow cards, was divine. Agree Bernardo gets away with plenty though – smallness, eloquence and a sensible haircut are useful tools.
45 min We’ll have three additional minutes and, as soon as they start, Guler puts a ball in behind from the right, Reijnders doing well to get back and make the challenge.
44 min “If you think Trent is a weakness,” says Tim Stappard, “suggest you look at the full-backs Pep has picked this tie.”
His team started the night 3-0 down, he had to think offensively, but also doesn’t really have a right-back.
43 min “To continue this festival of nostalgic Paddywhackery,” returns Justin Kavanagh, “Frank Stapleton was indeed immense that day, and apparently it was he who convinced the distraught Moran NOT to clock the ref when Peter Willis sent him marching for cleaning out Peter Reid. These days that would probably get him a FIFA Peace Prize.”
I was once at a sports quiz in which there was a question asking who reffed that much; naturally I said Peter Willis. More than a decade later, I was at another run by the same people and that question appeared again, so when the final round gave a succession of clues with one chance to name the sportsperson, when they said born in 1963, i was able to answer Michael Jordan with total confidence. We still didn’t win.
GOAL! Manchester City (1) 1-1 (4) Real Madrid (Haaland 41)
City take a corner shot and find Doku down the left; he pins and spins Fran, moving down his outside, crosses low, and Haaland gets just enough on it to send a bobbler past Courtois. City don’t look much less likely to score with 10 than with 11, problem being Madrid also have goals in them.
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40 min The corner yields another, and this time, City clear properly.
38 min Diaz runs at Dias who doesn’t have a clue which way he’s going, beaten on the outside with the eventuating shot hitting Donnarumma. But when City clear, Reijnders fouls Guler, who’ll take the free-kick from 25 yards out, right of centre; the wall does its job, blocking the shot behind.
37 min There he is! It’s taken a while, but Eberechi Eze has appeared into the season, leathering one out of nowhere that shrieks, sizzles and hisses high into the roof, keeper barely able to move. Brilliant goal from a man who has a close friendship with the big occasion.
35 min Madrid keep it, then Tchouameni tries one from 20 yards, a deflection from Dias taking the ball back to Donnarumma.
34 min “It’s all over for Pep at Citeh,” writes Conor Clarke. “Nothing to do with what’s happening on the pitch. Just look at that shirt? Is he wearing his pyjamas? Pep’s wardrobe as a metaphor for decline?””””
Yes, i was getting to that. He’s in his student phase – it’ll be dressing gown to work next.
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33 min A quiet period. Pathetic.
32 min “Courtois is indeed a serious dude,” says Alun Pugh, “but not infallible. As this game is over can you show Hal Robson-Kanu doing the business in the 2016 Euros to keep us all entertained? Well worth the drive from North Wales to Lyon.”
That’d be worth the drive even if your team got mullered, never nd if they produced the performance of a lifetime.
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31 min At the Emirates, it’s Arsenal 0-0 Leverkusen on the night, 1-1 on aggregate, with the home side pushing. Follow it with Scott Murray, who earlier brought us Sporting 5-0 Bodo.
29 min “I love watching Trent play, admits Niall Mullen, “but it is funny to see him have a minder for all of his defensive duties. It’s like when a team hires a young manager but no one trusts them, so they bring in an old grey hair for support/appearances e.g. Steve Staunton and Sir Bobby Robson.”
That’s the thing with him, isn’t it? However good his passing and crossing are, and they are very, very good, every team he’s in will have at least one weakness: him.
27 min Gosh, and here’s another, Fran down the left for Guler, who crosses for Vinicius, who passes wide. This is some half of association football.
26 min Goodness me, we’re going again, Thiago playing into the channel for Fran, who cuts inside towards goal … but there’s Khusanov, that recovery-tackling we discussed earlier saving another likely goal. So Doku counters, slips Haaland in down the left, and his low shot is saved with Courtois, Rodri following up to wallop the rebound wide. I can’t remember the last time I saw a game with so many chances in so little time.
25 min City can’t say they’ve not had chances, but really the tie ought to have been over inside the first minute because, goal aside, the best chance was Valverde’s right at the start.
23 min Courtois is a very, very serious dude. Doku down the left, a lowish cross, Haaland flies into it … and again, the keeper saves. So Madrid break downfield, Vinicius carries forward then skates right, before slamming a shot just a little high and just a little wide; Guardiola is then booked for mouth.
GOAL! Manchester City (0) 0-1 (4) Real Madrid (Vinicius pen 22)
Donnarumma goes left and Vinicius passes right. Madrid are going through.
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PENALTY TO REAL MARDID AND A RED CARD FOR BERNARDO!
20 min This tie has ended suddenly, and here comes Vinicius from the spot. Surely he won’t miss as he did last week….
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19 min It wasn’t offside, and the ref goes to the screen. Bernardo’s arm was teapotted behind his back, but he moved it towards the ball, and he is jiggered, for me, Clive.
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18 min But was it actually offside? VAR wants a look, and if it isn’t, Bernardo is off.
17 min Here come Madrid for the first time in a while and City’s high line is so easy to penetrate, Valverde playing in behind for Vinicius, who moves across the face of the box before unleashing a venomous curler … which hits the post, then hits Donnarumma on the back. So Guler keeps the ball alive on the left by-line, finds Vinicius on the other side of the box, he shoots hard and, on the line, Bernardo leans into it and diverts the ball away with his arm! But the flag goes up for offside! Bernardo is a lucky man, because that’s a penalty and a red card!
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15 min Eeesh, Barcola has put PSG 2-0 up on the night; they now lead Chelsea 7-2 on aggregate and look to be running into form at the right time. At their best, they’re the best team in this competition, though it’s also worth noting that, while Chelsea’s results have been alright under Rosenior, their performances haven’t been impressive. Still, nothing that a quick rendition of Free Love on the Free Love Highway can’t solve.
13 min “Paul McGrath could dominate games and willed the Irish team to many 1-0 victories, including most memorably the Giants Stadium triumph over Italy in 1994,” recalls Justin Kavanagh. “Good to remember his versatility on this Patrick’s Day. Indeed, so dominant was he in the 1985 FA Cup Final that his compatriot Kevin Moran left the game early to admire his performance from the bench.”
Ha – though, in fairness, his Irish colleague, Frank Stapleton, was brilliant after moving alongside him from centre-forward.
12 min Unsurprisingly, I guess, it’s slowed down a little – the pace at which it started simply wasn’t sustainable.
11 min The corner comes to nothing.
10 min Doku does well to find space, sliding across the box for Rodri, who moves on for Cherki, whose shot is blocked behind by Fran.
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9 min At Stamford Bridge, the wonderful Kvaradona has scored for Paris, who lead Chelsea 1-0 on the night, 6-2 on aggregate. Liam Rosenior is off home at half-time to get the guitar.
8 min “How about a goalie who once scored a hat-trick?” returns Andrew Goudie. “‘El Buldog’ José Luis Chilavert. Eleven of him on the pitch would be frightening in all sorts of ways.”
Goodness, that game would be full of everything that no one (apart from everyone) wants to see.
6 min Neither of these teams look equipped to defend the other, City crossing from the right and Reijnders sweeping goalwards with the direction of the ball … but Huijsen makes a crucial block. It’s like there’s a one-goal gap with five minutes to go.
4 min Oh my days there’s some tempo to this, Rodri now popping up on the right of the box, taking a pass and unloading a rising shot, again well blocked by Courtois.
3 min Now City attack, Doku squaring up Alexander-Arnild and sliding to Cherki on the edge; he shimmies right to open a shooting lane, drives hard … and straight at Courtois, who digs away, volleyball-style.
1 min If City can get the first goal, things’ll get interesting, butVini plays in behind AND VALVERDE IS IN! But his night of a lifetime is over and, looking to open his body and allow the ball to run across his foot, sliding by Donnarumma … but all he manages is a backpass. That was the tie right there, a chance easier than the any of those he scored last week, but his night out is over.
1 min Here we go – again.
The more I look at this City team, the more it’s an old-skool Guardiola one, in a way – bodies in the middle of the pitch. Thing is, Madrid’s XI, with Diaz as a false nine and Guler on the wing, also has that potential.
Our teams are tunnelled … and here they come. How did we cope without pre-match light shows all those long, dark years?
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“On your question of choosing one player for every position,” says Geoff Wignall, “surely it has to be someone who can control a game among other attributes, so Rooney and Gerrard are both ruled out.
I’d pick from Franz Beckenbauer, Ruud Gullit and Paul McGrath: if picking on St Patrick’s Day it’d probably have to be McGrath.”
Gullit is a good shout, but the other two on the wing? I can’t see it. Tangentially, though, McGrath’s eprformance in the 1985 FA Cup final is one of my all time favourites.
Jude Bellingham has travelled – we see him in his civvies – but he’s not considered fit enough to play. When he does return, I really, really hope we see him play the position he was born for – not a 10, nor a wide midfielder, but a box-to-box one-off, outrageous in all phases of the game whether taking the ball off the defence, carrying it forward, or creating and scoring. Anything else is a waste.
Gosh, Sporting have scored at the start of extra time. It’s hard to see Bodo coming back from this.
Is there a name for this garment Jon Champion’s in? I like to think it’s modelled on Inception – a coat with coat rather than a dream within a dream – or the Edgar Allan Poe poem.
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In Lisbon, they’re getting ready to play extra time.
What’s eating Erling Haaland? What we’re seeing is actually a pattern – he fills his boots early in the season, then sows down later on – but he doesn’t have the same menace as once. I guess teams are wiser to him, standing off so he can’t ragdoll them physically, but because he’s reliant on service – he’s not a player able to create his own chances – the lack of cohesion around him his a problem. A player like him is good in a good team, but in one that’s struggling, his lack of general contribution is harder to wear.
Back to Valverde, Seedorf saw him as a kid when he was working at Depor and, after one training session, said stick him in the team and we’ll work out the rest later. Game recognises game, and actually, the two aren’t totally dissimilar as players, monstrous athletes with technical ability and perfect mentality. Every now and again, I play the if you had to one player in every position, who would it be game. For years, it was close between Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney – I’d go Rooney because he’s meant to be a great keeper – but now, it could well be Valverde, but feel free to send in other options.
“For all the talk last week about City’s line-up,” begins Andrew Goudie, “their structure, set-pieces, individual performances, etc, the fact remains that with Federico Valverde even Spurs would have won 3-0.”
City actually started the game in the ascendancy but, as you imply, Valverde had a night from the gods. As we said at the top, though, Madrid are set up for that, and in that game, it just so happened to be him.
So where is the game? City will want to set Doku at Alexander-Arnold, who doesn’t have the defensive chops or recovery pace to combat him if he’s at it. They’ll also ask Cherki to wander about, looking to slide Haaland in, while trying to open shooting lanes for himself from 15-22 yards. And if he’s infield, Nunes and Bernardo will move to hold the width, stretching the Madrid defence.
Madrid, meanwhile, will be content to play on the counter, knowing they’ve Mbappe back on the bench for later on, They know Nunes isn’t a defender, so Vinicius will look to get at him one on one, with Diaz dropping to make an extra an in midfield and Valverde running on, perhaps as Guler drops too. I’d not be surprised if, for much of the game, Dias and Khusanov have no one to mark, with Madrid looking to come central from wide, making it harder for their attackers to be marked.
Penalty to Sporting … and it’s there! With 12 to go, they’re now level at 3-3 on aggregate with Bodo.
On the telly, they’re talking about this game. It’s up there with Juventus 2-3 Man United as the best European performances British teams have delivered in my lifetime.
Email! “Pep’s kinda washed and we should just say it,” says Christopher Flaherty. “Hemming and hawking about staying, no clear vision for the future ... further decline is more likely than another revolution.”
I know what you mean – the drift has been a few seasons now, and it doesn’t feel like he’s on the cusp. But it’s also the case that the game has changed, so it’s harder to play the kind of dominant football he’s into, and it’s taking a while for him fathom a new idea, so we’re still in the trial and error stage.
I love hearing players describe football in a language that isn’t their own because they use such interesting vocabulary. Talking about how Fede Valverde works for the team, Clarence Seedorf has just said “he’s so generous”. Beautiful.
In Lisbon, Sporting lead Bodo 2-0 on the night, trailing 3-2 on aggregate. Can everyone’s favourite second team hold on? Scott Murray will let you know.
Back to the City side, I’m surprised Guehi has been left out – I’m not certain what Khusanov offers he does not – perhaps his recovery-tackling is the difference – and Guehi has the edge in experience. At right-back, Nunes has the savvy O’Reilly has yet to learn – he was a little exposed in the Bernabeu – while Reijnders, who I expected to play in Spain, offers runs in behind and ball-carrying in the middle of the pitch. And finally, Guardiola has perhaps decided his XI can only wear one player who does not much but score, so the wizardry of Cherki is preferred to the goal-power of Semenyo.
“The toughest one,” he says of the challenge awaiting his team tonight. The team have some history behind them, having done many good things over the years, but he thinks they’re compact when asked if that’s an area in which they need to improve.
On the XI, he wants them to move the ball and impose their game – they’ve got attacking quality and more on the bench. They need to give Haaland passes, play football, and when they see how the game goes, decide on what they have to do.
We’ll talk about what all that means in a moment, but first, here’s Guardiola…
City make four changes from the first leg: out go Guehi, O’Reilly, Savio and Semenyo, with Khusanov, Nunes, Reijnders and Cherki coming in.
Just the one alteration for Madrid: Fran replaces the injured Mendy.
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Teams
Manchester City (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, Reijnders, Bernardo; Cherki, Haaland, Doku. Subs: Trafford, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Guéhi, Savinho, O’Reilly, Semenyo, Foden, Lewis.
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Fran Garcia; Valverde, Thiago, Tchouameni, Guler, Diaz, Vinicius Jr. Subs: Lunin, Carvajal, Alaba, Camavinga, Mbappe, Gonzalo, Carreras, Mastantuano, Aguado, Cestero, Angel, Palacios.
Referee: Clément Turpin (France)
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Preamble
In one way or another, most stories are about identity: roughly, who are we and we cool with that? Well, our teams tonight arrive at this game as potential protagonists, both in something of quandary.
City are in between teams, problem being they’ve been there a while and it’s not exactly clear what sort of one they’d like to become. A few years ago now, Pep Guardiola experienced a revelation –physicality and good defending are necessary when you no longer have Lionel Messi and the best midfield of all time – winning his first Champions League since those days as a consequence. But without Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and that version of Rodri, he’s scrabbling for a new way, ingredients for a possession team that’s also a power team not easily come by. Never has it been harder to predict who Guardiola will pick or how they’ll try to play – and not in a good way.
Madrid, meanwhile, also don’t have a collective identity, but mainly because they don’t want one – so much so that when Xabi Alonso tried to impose one on them, they imposed unemployment on him. Instead, the personality of the team is the personality of whichever among its ensemble finds main-character energy on any given day – last week it was Fede Valverde, but tonight it might just as easily be no one.
Or, in other words, City winning 3-0 seems possible, likewise Madrid losing 3-0, the difference between their best and worst significant – which is why neither looks likely to win their domestic league. The greatest teams – and players – are not those with the highest top level but the highest bottom and modal levels, so no one will be lauding either of these as anything special. But there’s enough about them that’s potentially special such that, through the course of this match and competition, they might just happen upon a hero’s journey that shows them who they are and who they have to be.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
