The Real Champs
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Real Madrid: 5 players who must shine against Manchester City

By Kevin Parvizi

VALENCIA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 22: Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid runs with the ball during the Liga match between Levante UD and Real Madrid CF at Ciutat de Valencia on February 22, 2020 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 22: Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid runs with the ball during the Liga match between Levante UD and Real Madrid CF at Ciutat de Valencia on February 22, 2020 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 9: Gareth Bale of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Osasuna v Real Madrid on February 9, 2020 (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 9: Gareth Bale of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Osasuna v Real Madrid on February 9, 2020 (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) /

RW Gareth Bale

It’s time for Gareth Bale to show up. He’s had a couple of quality performances this season, but they’ve been few and far between, with most of them occurring in the first month of the campaign. Bale has flashed the quality that made him one of the top 10 players in the world during his prime years at Real, and while those years are well and truly behind him, he should still, in theory, have something left in the tank.

Real Madrid need to see it, and Gareth Bale needs to show it. Even if his career with the club is at a crossroads and they’d be better off mutually parting ways, Bale needs strong performances to show other clubs – perhaps his old friends in North London – that he’s worth signing on for significant wages.

The Champions League is Bale’s time to shine. He’s started in plenty of big games for Zinedine Zidane this season, but this needs to be the big game where he starts to make his mark.

DM Casemiro

The best defensive midfielder in the world, Casemiro will battle it out against another player fighting for this honor in Manchester City’s Rodrigo, who has become Pep Guardiola’s protege of sorts after a promising career under Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid.

Rodri’s defensive quality and ability to control tempo will be key to City, but Casemiro will have the most important task ahead of him. He’ll need to cover for the advancing Ramos while also keeping a close eye on the game-changing Kevin de Bruyne, who may be the most technically prolific attacking midfielder in the world following Mesut Özil‘s “decline”.

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KDB, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, and others will look to wreak havoc against Real Madrid, and Casemiro will have to do the work of two men if Real are to have any hopes of a clean sheet. He’s capable of fulfilling this task, so, really, City will also have to worry about preparing for him.

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