Real Madrid vs Manchester City preview and analysis

Manchester City's side of the coin

Guardiola’s City are in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the fourth time in the club’s history after posting a 4-1 victory over Germany’s Bayern Munich, first a 3-0 win at the Etihad followed up by a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena. Goals from Erling Haaland, Rodrigo and Bernando Silva in Manchester sunk the Bavarians beyond recompense. Haaland was spellbound in Munich, missing from the spot in the first-half but the forward eventually scored the opener before Joshua Kimmich’s late penalty secured a draw for the hosts.

City are by far a dominant side in Europe this season. They have always been especially under the reign of the Spanish tactician and the arrival of the world’s next big thing in football has even made The Citizens more complete and dangerous a side. They are the only side still in the quest for a treble this season and the next couple of games would decide whether or not they achieve their big dreams.

The Sky Blues may rely heavily on their Norweigan striker but there a couple of players who know how to pull the trigger. Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Bernando Silva, Riyadh Mahrez are players who are not Haaland but can work magic in front of goal.
De Bruyne blasted a shot from outside the box against Leipzig in the 7-1 rout in the last-16 and also hit the post in the same match. Rodri scored the opener for Guardiola’s side against Bayern and it was from some distance outside the box.

Real Madrid's side of the coin

Los Blancos remain the side that can pull off any huge upset at any point in time. The UEFA Champions League rings a different, unique tune in the ears of the Spanish giants. It was seen how Carlos Ancelotti and his boys manage to go through Liverpool in the Round of 16 despite not having the best of seasons at that moment.

The fourteen-time Champions somehow manage to impress in Europe. It was evident last season when they managed to beat PSG, Chelsea and City themselves despite the odds. Madrid are coming from the league where they have undoubtedly conceded the trophy to Barcelona. Their only hopes are Europe and the domestic cup; a domestic double.

City are obviously the better side coming into this tie. They’re better off than they were last season. The Sky Blues are invincible at the moment with a treble in sight, they are undefeated in the past twenty fixtures, with sixty goals in those games. They have not conceded more than a single goal since January 19. Everything that spells statistics seems to be in favour of Guardiola and his men, but if Madrid are famous for one thing, it’s for going the extra mile in Europe. Ancelotti and co are every inch of capable of stopping the biggest force there is to reckon with across the continent at the moment. They will be hoping they can bring the Copa Del Ray winning aura to the table on Tuesday.

REAL MADRID VS MANCHESTER CITY KEY STATS

• Manchester City remain the only side unbeaten in this season’s Champions League up to date.
  The club have recorded six wins and four draws but no single defeat.
• Real Madrid are the next best club still active in the competition and the side with the most number of wins. In 10 games played, they have a win percentage of 80%(eight games), 10% draws(one game) and 10% loss (one game)
• Madrid are the only side to have won all four games in the knock-out stages of the Champions League this season: Liverpool(5-2, 1-0), Chelsea(2-0, 2-0).
• Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in the past twenty fixtures to date across all competitions. The last time the Citizens tasted defeat was on February 5, a 1-0 loss to Tottenham.
• Los Blancos are unbeaten in their last six home fixtures in the Champions League. They last lost at the Etihad in a UCL tie against Chelsea, a 3-2 defeat in the quarter-finals last season on April 12.
• Both teams are into the the semi-finals of the competition for the third straight season.
• Manchester City have not conceded more than one goal in a single game in their past twenty fixtures. They have let in twelve into their net and have scored sixty across those twenty games.
• Haaland remains the top scorer in Europe this season with 12 goals in 8 games, averaging 1.5 per game.

Real Madrid vs Manchester City Head-to-Head record

Both sides are on par with three wins apiece and two draws. That means they have both suffered a trey of defeats to each other.

Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City(18-09-2012)
Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid (21-11-2012)
Manchester City 0-0 Real Madrid (26-04-2016)
Real Madrid 1-0 Manchester City
(04-05-2016)
Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City
(26-02-2020)
Manchester City 2-1 Real Madrid
(07-08-2020)
Manchester City 4-3 Real Madrid
(26-04-2022)
Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City
(04-05-2022)

Real Madrid: 3 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses.
Manchester City: 3 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses.

Real Madrid vs Manchester City Champions League timeline

Real Madrid:
(A) 3-0 Celtic (06-09-2022)
(H) 2-0 RB Leipzig (14-09-2022)
(H) 2-1 Shaktar Donetsk (05-10-2022)
(A) 1-1 Shaktar Donetsk (11-10-2022)
(A) 2-3 RB Leipzig (25-10-2022)
(H) 5-1 Celtic (02-11-2022)
(A) 5-2 Liverpool (21-02-2023)
(H) 1-0 Liverpool (15-03-2023)
(H) 2-0 Chelsea (12-04-2023)
(A) 2-0 Chelsea (18-04-2023)

Manchester City:
(A) 4-0 Sevilla (06-09-2022)
(H) 2-1 Dortmund (14-09-2022)
(H) 5-0 Copenhagen (05-10-2022)
(A) 0-0 Copenhagen (11-10-2022)
(A) 0-0 Dortmund (25-10-2022)
(H) 3-1 Sevilla (02-11-2022)
(A) 1-1 RB Leipzig (22-02-2023)
(H) 7-0 RB Leipzig (14-03-2023)
(H) 3-0 Bayern Munich(11-04-2023)
(A) 1-1 Bayern Munich (19-04-2023)

Real Madrid vs Manchester City past five fixtures:

Manchester City
(H) 2-1 Leeds United (06-05-2023)
(H) 3-0 West Ham (03-05-2023)
(A) 2-1 Fulham (30-04-2023)
(H) 4-1 Arsenal (26-04-2023)
(N) 3-0 vs Sheffield (22-04-2023)
Form: WWWWW

Real Madrid:
(H) 2-1 Osasuna (06-05-2023)
(A) 0-2 Sociedad (02-05-2023)
(H) 4-2 UD Almeria(29-04-2023)
(A) 2-4 Girona (25-04-2023)
(H) 2-0 Celta Vigo (22-04-2023)
Form: WLWLW

Real Madrid vs Manchester City previous encounters in the Champions League:

Real Madrid vs Manchester City(2016):
The Sky Blues were making the Champions League last four for the first time in history then under Manuel Pellegrini. City had posted a 3-2 overall win over Paris Saint-German in the quarter-final to proceed while Madrid recorded a comeback win over VFL Wolfsburg thanks to a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo. The tie was bereft of goals but Fernando putting the ball in his own net was what separated these two teams as Los Blancos marched to the finals where they eventually defeated Atletico Madrid to lift the trophy.

Real Madrid vs Manchester City(2020):
Madrid were the unlucky side in the doubleheader Round of 16 tie three years ago. At the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Los Blancos went ahead through Marcos Asensio in the 59th minute thanks to an assist from Vinicius Jr before the visitors scored two quickfire goals, via Gabriel Jesus’ 78th-minute header and De Bruyne’s penalty four minutes later.

On the return leg in England months later, Manchester City punched their tickets through to the quarter-finals, 4-2 on aggregate, thanks to two opportunistic goals, capitalizing on two mistakes by Raphael Varane, the first put away by Raheem Sterling and the second by Gabriel Jesus even though Benzema had earlier equalized through a header.

Manchester City vs Real Madrid(2022):
The Sky Blues were in the last four for the second season running after failing to beat Chelsea in the final a year ago. Guardiola’s side had defeated Atletico Madrid by a lone goal in the quarter-finals to qualify. Madrid on the other hand had survived a breathtaking ordeal, a real fight put on by Chelsea thanks to Karim Benzema’s genius.

The Citizens scored a 4-3 victory over Los Blancos on home ground. De Bruyne headed home Mahrez’s cross inside two minutes before Gabriel Jesus doubled from close range several minutes later. Benzema volleyed to reduce the deficit on the other end with Phil Foden restoring the two-goal cushion in the second half. Vinicius’ solo effort saw Madrid back in the tie but Bernando Silva’s strike gave the hosts their advantage again. A handball incident gifted Los Blancos a penalty kick, brilliantly tucked away by Benzema with so much technique.

In the second leg, Mahrez gave City the lead to make the score 5-3 in the 63rd minute. Two goals from the substitute, Rodrygo, in the 89th and 90th respectively saw the Citizens level on goals but lead on aggregate. A third by Benzema, a penalty kick in stoppage time sealed a final for Los Blancos.

Real Madrid vs Manchester City key players:

Manchester City:
Erling Haaland:

Boisterous and dangerous as he can be, Real Madrid would soon find out they have to contain a deadly threat in Erling Haaland. No single team in the UCL this season has been able to outwit the Norweigan striker, having scored his twelve goals against all five teams his club has faced right from the group stages till now. Carlos Ancelotti would be needing a real master stroke, no other manager has been able to pull till now to tame the lanky forward. Eder Militao and David Alaba meet the biggest test of their defensive abilities and prowess this season.

Kevin De Bruyne:
The Belgian fired home that screamer in the game against RB Leipzig, a match in which he also hit the post. He was spectacular in a classic encounter against Arsenal, scoring two brilliant goals and also delivering the assist for John Stones’ header. His statistics speak for itself, having racked up eighteen assists in the Premier League and five in the Champions League this season.