Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final clash with Real Madrid, I spoke to European football writer Karl Matchett. Here are his views on Manchester City’s chances and the clash itself.
How would you sum up Real Madrid’s season so far?
Mixed. It’s a club with a love for drama, much of it self-serving or self-created, but power and money speak volumes and they always end up coming out the other side as challengers for the big trophies, and this year has been no different. The appointment of Rafa Benitez never looked likely to work due to sheer unpopularity, whereas appointing Zidane was a polar opposite. They have attacked in style at times and defended horribly, they have suffered with a lot of injuries and have been terribly inconsistent with performances from half to half…and yet are one point off the top and in the last four in Europe. Margins don’t matter in the end though and the fanbase is as black and white as it comes: winning is probably good enough, not winning is definitely not.
Is this the best draw that City could have wished for?
For sure. Atletico Madrid have already proven they are a better team on the day and over the entire campaign, and I don’t think that City would have beaten them over two legs. Bayern are a stronger outfit than Real Madrid, so City can be very pleased with their passage toward the final. Reasonably favourable draws all the way.
If he’s ruled out, how big of a miss will Cristiano Ronaldo be?
Huge, but not cataclysmic. It’s expected he’ll be fit anyway to be fair and sitting out the game at Rayo at the weekend was precautionary as much as anything, but Gareth Bale is in superb form of late (when fit himself!) and can definitely take up the mantle of being the go-to man to launch attacks.
If Ronaldo or Bale do miss out, who can we expect to see take their place?
Isco or James Rodriguez would be the most likely, but Jese and Lucas Vazquez are also possible, depending on Benzema’s fitness. If KB can’t play, Real need a more forward-minded, goal-scoring capable option, so James or Jese would directly fill in for Ronaldo. You’d expect Casemiro, Kroos, Modric to fill the centre, so Isco might be left on the bench.
Have there been any unsung heroes in the Real Madrid squad this term?
Keylor Navas is the undoubted player of the season. The defence can be hilariously wide open at times, especially behind the full-backs, and Keylor has come up with huge saves at times. He’s athletic, agile, has great reflexes and the fans love him. In attack, Lucas Vazquez is overlooked as he’s not usually a starter and isn’t a big name, but has the pace and direct running to create chances and attack the back post unmarked when he gets on late in games.
Which Manchester City player do Real Madrid fear the most?
Sergio Aguero would be the obvious answer from a Real Madrid perspective. He’s a killer in the box and has great movement, something which all of Real’s centre-backs struggle with at times.
Will this be a harder or easier task for City than the PSG tie?
Much harder for City, simply because Real have bigger egos and self-belief than the PSG team seem to have. Real are fighting on two fronts, are on a great streak of wins in La Liga and have the mental boost of two important comeback wins of late: the second leg against Wolfsburg and the second half against Rayo. Real Madrid are far from invincible, but even if they concede a couple of goals they have the firepower and the all-out-attack mentality to go and score three or four themselves.
And finally, a score prediction please.
1-1 or 2-2 in the first leg. An aggregate win by one or two goals for Real Madrid overall, but it could be a high-scoring one.
