Manchester city defeated Real Madrid 2-1, for the first time ever, in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League, at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. They came out deserving winners in what was a very intense tactical battle. This not only gives them the lead going into the second leg at the Etihad, but also 2 vital away goals.

Lineups and Formations

Real Madrid

Real Madrid lined up in a 4-3-3 with the surprise ‘tactical’ exclusion of Toni Kroos. Vinicius, Benzema and Isco led the attack, which lacked a cutting edge. They transitioned into a 4-1-4-1 when they lost possession with Isco and Vinicius tracking back to the midfield to defend.

From Sofa Score Website

https://www.sofascore.com/real-madrid-manchester-city/rsEgb

Manchester City

Manchester City also lined up with a 4-3-3 but with a many tweaks. Gabriel Jesus drifted down towards the left to play like a left attacking midfielder. His job was to mark Carvajal and drop deep in their left half to win back the ball and press the Madrid players. He also made runs to receive de Bruyne’s through balls. Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva played as 2 false nine’s pressing the Real centrebacks. The positioning of Gabriel Jesus and the omission of Aguero, Fernandinho and David Silva from the starting eleven, were two really alarming decisions by Pep. But in the end, it turned out to be a master stroke

Analyzing the First Half

The first half ended 0-0 and rightly so. Real Madrid were just a bit more dominant than Manchester City in the half. Manchester City as usual tried to build up play from the back, but were finding it difficult to do so, as Real Madrid were pressing really high up the pitch. This forced Ederson to go long on most occasions.

Real Madrid pressing the City players high up the pitch and thereby forcing Ederson to go long.

Real Madrid also played a really high defensive line. Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, who were playing as false nine’s, did not have the pace to outrun Real’s centrebacks. So City couldn’t break through Madrid’s defensive structure very easily. But what they did in reply to this was also amazing. Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus were tasked with marking Mendy and Carvajal respectively which prevented Real from attacking down the flanks, which they normally do. And since City had the numbers advantage in midfield over Real, Madrid found it very difficult to get past City’s midfield and even when they did, they failed to convert their chance.

Jesus marking Carvajal which either forced him to pass the ball back to Varane or lose possession. In this scenario Jesus intercepted Carvajal’s pass and started a Manchester City Counter.

City had their chances in the half which mainly came through the brilliance of Kevin de Bruyne who had an amazing game. Real’s best chance of the game however, came from a pinpoint cross by Mendy to Benzema who somehow headed the ball towards the goal only to be parried away by Ederson in the path of Vinicius Jr. who slipped while trying to reach for the ball.

de Bruyne finds Jesus with a brilliant through ball, between Carvajal and Varane in the 20th minute. Unfortunately Jesus couldn’t convert the chance.

Overall, in the first half both managers flexed their tactical style on one-another and in the end there was no clear winner. But at the same time, it set the game up beautifully for the second half.

Analyzing the Second Half

This is the half where the tie has turned towards Manchester City’s favour. From Real Madrid looking like scoring 2 goals to City scoring 2, being 1 down and add to that Sergio Ramos being sent off, the half had it all.

Manchester City enjoyed a bit more possession this half and were able to move the ball around in a more systematic and fluid manner. It was clearly evident that most of the Madrid players were tired and City took advantage of this.

Real Madrid again pressing city high up which led to Rodri making an awkward looking pass to Walker who was eventually dispossessed by Vinicius in the build up to Real Madrid’s goal.

The first goal in the half was courtesy Isco who slotted the ball into the bottom left corner. Real Madrid’s tireless pressing and Manchester City’s awful passing led to this goal. Vinicius dispossessed Walker to assist Isco.

This sparked the game up. Real were looking confident on the break and looked like they could put another goal behind the net. But that was not to be. Zidane substituted Vinicius, Real’s best attacking outlet in the game for Gareth Bale who was brought on to give more defensive solidity by pressing City and trying to win the ball back. The players sat back in defense and looked to protect their lead.

In the 73rd minute Bernardo Silva made way for Raheem Sterling. After this change, Raheem slotted into the left wing position. Gabriel Jesus, now shifted to Center Forward, with Mahrez on the right and de Bruyne behind. This brought the best out of all the City players. Sterling with his pace made runs down the left drawing Carvajal and Varane with him. This in turn created spaces which de Bruyne took advantage of. This sort of build up led to Manchester City’s first goal. de Bruyne crosses the ball into the box for Jesus to head the ball into the net.

de Bruyne with so much space to exploit in Madrid’s box. You can see both Carvajal and Varane out of position trying to defend Sterling. This build up play led to City’s first goal.

The goal split open Real’s defense and suddenly all the defenders looked stunned. Casemiro had one of his worst performances ever, in the game. He had a pass accuracy of just 77%. He misplaced a pass, not even 5 minutes after Sterling’s goal, that led to a brilliant City build up, again orchestrated by de Bruyne. This time Sterling was fouled in the box by Carvajal and penalty was awarded to Manchester City. Kevin de Bruyne converted the spot kick to make it 2-1 Manchester City.

Add to that another lazy pass by Casemiro was intercepted by Gabriel Jesus who was in a 1v1 situation against Courtois. Sergio Ramos fouled Jesus just outside the box, which led to him getting sent off for the 26th time in his career.

Sergio Ramos fouls Jesus just outside the box.

All the hard-work done by the Madrid players was put to waste in just 15 minutes, and now they find themselves traveling to the Etihad not only behind but also without their captain. City on the other hand look the favorites to go through from here.

What next for both teams

Real Madrid face FC Barcelona in an all important Clasico this Sunday. A loss for Real Madrid here will increase the gap between the 2 teams to 5 points which might make the task of winning La Liga a bit more difficult for Real.

Manchester City on the other hand face Aston Villa in the League Cup final this Sunday.

The return leg of this fixture is on March 17th at the Etihad Stadium.