Real Madrid has on its side the experience Carlo Ancelotti, triple winner of the Champions League, knows perfectly well what is going on in this type of match and will count on his Praetorian guard to try to unseat a Manchester City who has never won a Champions League final, despite having played the last one as the best result to date.
The truth is that the citizens as a club have little history in Europe, never having won a title. His rival this Wednesday, however, has made Europe his staff stronghold with the spectacular streak of four Champions in five years that they achieved thanks to players who are still in the squad such as Modric, Benzema, Carvajal, Nacho or Bale.
The British can say that they have a superior squad in terms of winners in the Premier League in recent years with up to three titles in the last four years and currently leading the ranking. Players like De Bruyne, Mahrez or Bernardo Silva know that this duel at the Santiago Bernabéu is a kind of revalidation for their careers after showing off many local titles in their respective showcases.
The only member of Manchester City who knows what it’s like to win Europe’s top club competition, albeit far from the islands, is a Pep Guardiola who achieved two practically consecutive at the head of Messi’s Barça. The Catalan coach has not been able to emulate those results neither in his adventure at Bayern Munich nor today. This match may mark a turning point in relation to the City bosses.
It is curious that the eleven that Ancelotti will propose against City in the Champions League second leg Only Courtois, Militao, Mendy, Valverde and Vinicius are the only ones who don’t know what it means to win the Champions League. Real Madrid’s chances of being able to compete with a very young City in these events will largely depend on their hunger. We will see what happens with the magic of the Bernabéu for this game as an essential factor.