The defeat in the Champions League final still hurts Ilkay Gündogan. Ahead of the semi-final second leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.), the missed triumph in the premier class serves as a spur for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola.
“We want to do better than last year,” emphasized Gündogan. “So we’ll be well prepared for Wednesday, we’re full of confidence and it’s going to be a big game I’m sure.” Guardiola spoke of a “huge test”.
Will the Bernabeu crowd see another peat festival? The spectacular first leg in Manchester was an open exchange of blows and ended 4:3 (2:1). After City initially dominated the game, Real came back through Karim Benzema.
“The whole 90 minutes won’t be the same,” Guardiola warned, not wanting to commit to a line-up. “There is no guarantee that the same players will play the same way. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.” The title collector, who still lacks an international trophy with City, said his side must improve on the first leg in order to progress.
Real Madrid confident after winning the championship
In Madrid one reads and hears about the “Operación Remontada”, the “operation to catch up”. After spectacular comebacks in the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain and in the quarter-finals against Chelsea, fans and media in Madrid are brimming with optimism. Especially since the record champions of the Primera División secured their 35th league title early on Saturday with a 4-0 win over Espanyol.
Despite the difficult task ahead against Man City, there was a lot of celebration at Madrid’s Cibeles Square – and according to the media afterwards also privately. “The championship party is good for morale,” said Real coach and motivational guru Carlo Ancelotti. Already at the championship party in the center of the capital, “Don Carlo” energetically called out to the 150,000 fans: “Now let’s get City!”
England’s champions also warmed up for the premier class with a 4-0 win in Leeds on Saturday – and defended first place in the Premier League. In the league, the Cityzens have a one-point lead over pursuers Liverpool. The double is possible.
“History vs Checkbook”
But it is an open secret that star coach Pep Guardiola and the rich city owners from Abu Dhabi have the top priority for the still missing title in the Champions League – especially after losing the final against Chelsea (0:1) a year ago. According to a poll by the Manchester Evening News, City fans feel the same way.
For the Royals, the duel against City is primarily a settlement with the unloved Guardiola, who, as coach of arch-rivals FC Barcelona, had given the Madrilenos a long period of suffering between 2008 and 2012 and thus became “enemy number one”.
According to “AS” it is also a fight “history against checkbook”. Since Guardiola’s commitment in 2016, the sheikhs in Manchester have spent almost 1.1 billion on reinforcements, Real “only” 609 million in the same period, 77 percent less.
Statistics speaks against Real Madrid
The statistics speak against Real: A defeat in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League could never be made up for in eight previous attempts. And then there’s pep too: Guardiola only lost once in nine guest appearances at the Bernabéu.
When asked about this, Ancelotti was calm on Tuesday. “Every game has its own story,” emphasized the Italian, who expects “a difficult match”. “But my players are in good spirits. They are very motivated, very focused.”
To reach the final on May 28 in Paris and play for the 14th title, the 34-year-old Benzema is the main bet in Madrid. The Frenchman has scored nine times in five knockout games so far, twice against City.