Real Madrid will travel to the Etihad Stadium for Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal showdown against Manchester City, who are widely recognized as the best and most consistent team in European football. After Pep Guardiola’s overthinking cost them last season’s title, Carlo Ancelotti had better believe the ex-Barcelona manager will have the perfect gameplan for him…unless, you know, he spends so much time thinking he…ah, you get it.
In any case, though there are plenty of narratives surrounding these two legendary managers, the players are the ones who will actually decide the game.
Let’s take a look at five players on both Real Madrid and Manchester City who could have the biggest say on the final scoreline at the Etihad.
Real Madrid RB Dani Carvajal
We begin with one of Real Madrid’s most mercurial players, Dani Carvajal. At times this season, he has looked like the Carvajal of old, returning from injury to produce high-quality performances at the right back position. But in other matches, he has been Real’s biggest liability, getting toasted by the likes of Ferran Torres and Kylian Mbappe.
Even going back to a couple of years ago when Real Madrid last faced Manchester City, Carvajal’s lack of speed, overly-aggressiveness, and proneness to mistakes were exposed by super-sub Raheem Sterling. Los Blancos were knocked out of the Champions League Round of 16 by the Cityzens in 2019/20.
Carvajal will be going up against Sterling again. If he isn’t at his best, the England international could pop up with the decisive goal contributing action at the Spaniard’s expense.
Manchester City GK Ederson
Ederson is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, though his mistakes often lead fans, especially fans of rival clubs, to criticize him heavily. The Manchester City goalkeeper’s quickness, reflexes, and ball-playing ability make him capable of producing interventions that other keepers can’t, and it will be very interesting to see how his strengths and weaknesses match up against Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr.
Of course, Benzema has been a nightmare for keepers in the Champions League. Ask Karius. Even this season, he has forced mistakes out of two of the very best keepers in the world, Edouard Mendy and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Let’s see if Ederson can avoid making mistakes and have a few goal-saving interventions of his own. Madridistas cannot underestimate him.
Real Madrid LB Ferland Mendy
Ferland Mendy should be good to go after missing the last couple of games with an injury as a result of the grueling second leg win over Chelsea. The Frenchman is an important player to Real Madrid, as the other left back options the club has used recently, Marcelo and Nacho, simply are not good enough for the Champions League. Marcelo has somewhat held his own, but there’s no way Real could trust him against Riyad Mahrez.
In addition to being important against the Algerian winger, Mendy will be key offensively. Pep Guardiola may try to force Real to use the left back as a ball-carrier, focusing a lot of defensive attention on the running Vinicius Jr. provides, particularly in transition.
Can Mendy step up and help the winger out?
Manchester City CF Phil Foden
Phil Foden is one of the most highly-rated young players in world football, as he broke out last season with crucial Champions League knockout performances. Pep Guardiola has always spoken highly of Foden as one of the best young talents he’s ever coached, and he has turned Foden into one of the most versatile attacking players in the Premier League.
Real Madrid must be up to the task of stopping him, and that task will get much harder if neither David Alaba nor Casemiro can play in the defense. Foden has eight goals and three assists in the Premier League this season with four total goal contributions in the Champions League.
The kind of tactical chesspiece Guardiola loves, Foden’s movement off the ball could be what does Real in, just as the Merengues struggled at times to cope with the movement of Thomas Tuchel’s side in the quarterfinals.
Real Madrid CM Toni Kroos
If Real Madrid are to avoid getting overrun by Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, and the Manchester City midfield, then they will need a big performance from Toni Kroos. The German struggled in the second leg against Chelsea and was taken off for Eduardo Camavinga, but he quickly redeemed himself (as if he needed to) with a masterclass against Sevilla to buoy Los Blancos to a 3-2 comeback.
Kroos is a different level of midfield controller to anyone else he is erroneously compared to. A lot of Real’s hopes rest on Kroos’ shoulders, or, maybe more appropriately, satisfying pings and quick thinking in the face of the press.
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Progressing the ball and getting out of tight spaces won’t be easy against City, so Kroos holds the keys to dictating the tempo, finding teammates in areas where they can then be dangerous, and turning defense into attack in an instant. Real Madrid must be perfect when transitioning, because they will not be allowed many opportunities. Kroos will be vital in that effort.