Manchester City suffered a heavy defeat against Real Madrid, but Opta does not believe it is impossible for the club to make a huge comeback in the second leg.
This has been a week to forget at Manchester City. The highs of last weekend were quickly extinguised, as Real Madrid delivered their performance of the year.
Man City were outclassed by the better team on the night and the scoreline was already looking ugly before half-time.
Nico O’Reilly had one opportunity to get City a goal, but it could have got worse for the visitors, as Vincius Jr had a chance to make it four from the penalty spot.
Simply put, it was a truly dreadful night at the Bernabeu and now Pep Guardiola’s team have left themselves with an uphill struggle to overcome.
Opta have not given up on Manchester City
With every first leg of the last 16 ties played, Opta have outlined the probabilities of each team reaching the quarter-finals.
Among the Premier League teams, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have been given very slim chances of survival.
However, Man City apparently have a 17.1 per cent chance of remaining in the competition after next week’s second leg.
This may not be a huge figure, but it seems fairly optimistic considering City lost by the same margins as Spurs and Chelsea.
Man City have the quality to defy all odds
One freak result will not define Man City’s season, especially if they can do the unthinkable and win by more than three goals at the Etihad Stadium.
Tottenham are a total mess and Chelsea only have so much talent, but Man City are a team who have the quality in their squad to deliver a big result.
If the Sky Blues get an early goal, suddenly Real Madrid’s overall lead is reduced and this means they have a chance.
Only time will tell if Man City can make it through, but their story in Europe is certainly not over, at least for now.
