At times, Real Madrid were completely outclassed by Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday night at the Etihad. But none of the defensive miscommunications, spells out of possession, or masterful gameplanning from Pep Guardiola broke Real’s spirit in the end.
Los Blancos emerged from a first leg against an extremely organized, talented City side with just a 4-3 loss. Somehow, someway, they are in the tie and found three goals on the road, giving Madrid hope for a PSG-esque Remontada. And whereas they could not create anything in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, they have those three goals to build even more confidence for the second leg at the Bernabeu.
Here are five reasons why Real Madrid fans can believe in a Remontada in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu vs. Manchester City on Wednesday, May 4.
Karim Benzema’s finishing
Karim Benzema isn’t just the clear favorite to win the Ballon d’Or. At this point, if Benz does not win the award, it may not as well exist. He is that far ahead of everyone else in terms of his overall ability on the pitch, his impact in big matches, and his importance to Madrid. Without Benz, Madrid would not be in the semifinals; he was the decisive player against both PSG and Chelsea with his back-to-back hat-tricks, followed by a second-leg winner vs. the Blues.
And on Tuesday night at the Etihad, Benz found the back of the net twice, erasing his penalty woes from the previous week in Pamplona with a cheeky Panenka. It was his whopping 12th goal of the campaign, matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s total in his nearly untouchable 2016/17 run – and just one away from his even more hallowed record of 10 knockout goals.
That is the level Benzema is reaching. We are talking about a legendary Champions League campaign. He is the biggest reason why Real Madrid have hope in the second leg with the deficit only at one goal. Because in just a few minutes, he turned the tide against PSG. History can easily repeat itself at the Bernabeu.
The skill of Vinicius Jr.
Real Madrid will most likely have to face Kyle Walker in the second leg after fortunately avoiding the world-class – and somehow underrated – right back in the first fixture due to injury. John Stones did not even play the majority of the game due to his own injury, meaning Vinicius Jr. got to face a defensive midfielder one-on-one at right back. And he took advantage in memorable fashion, pulling off a signature nutmeg turn to set up a sensational solo goal.
Vinicius will not have it easy in the second leg against Walker and City, but we know how much he loves playing for the Bernabeu. Against PSG, he was anonymous in the first leg and pocketed by young right back Achraf Hakimi. In the second leg, he roasted the former Madridista, proving unplayable at times in front of the raucous atmosphere of the legendary Bernabeu.
The left winger is arguably the best in the world at his position this season, producing two goals and six assists in the current Champions League campaign as the top all-around creator.
As we saw against Manchester City in the first leg, Vini Jr. just needs the slightest opportunity to change the entire game. He just needs one play to bring Real Madrid back into the game or seal a victory. Benzema netted the winning header against Chelsea in the second leg, but it was Vini’s running in transition and cross that truly created the goal.
The most skillful player in the world and one of the most statistically effective, Vini Jr. has been the X-Factor of all X-Factors during his time at Real Madrid. Though he is only 21, no spotlight is too bright for Vini, no stage too big. Not even the Champions League.
David Alaba, Casemiro will surely be back
David Alaba not being at 100 percent clearly affected Real Madrid defensively. The No. 4 was a doubt heading into the game due to injury, and while he played, he was not at his best fitness-wise. It showed, as Alaba made a clumsy error that enabled Gabriel Jesus to score. You wonder if Alaba were fully healthy, if Real Madrid would have tied or even won this game.
We saw against PSG and Chelsea how many fires he put out with his reading of the game and willingness to put his body on the line. He is the most consistent, stable, and intelligent of the Real Madrid defenders – a two-time treble winner.
Alaba started but did not finish the game due to his injury, leaving the game for Nacho Fernandez.
An even bigger absence, though, was in midfield, and this absence affected Alaba himself. Casemiro is a player Madridistas often do not appreciate fully until he is missing, because his biggest assets are not as apparent as his biggest weakness, which is ball security.
Clearly, Casemiro offers more good than bad, as you can see with how the defensive structure crumbles into dust and Toni Kroos is left grasping at air defensively when the Brazilian is unable to play.
Case’s injury hurt Real Madrid most of all against the fluid Manchester City attack. His return could be the decisive edge Los Blancos need to turn a 4-3 defeat into a win that advances them to an unlikely Champions League Final. The same goes for Alaba’s return, of course.
The Magic of the Santiago Bernabeu
There is nothing like a big Champions League night at the Santiago Bernabeu. Sure, every Champions League knockout fixture is special in its own way, but as we have seen this season, nothing compares to the entertainment and atmosphere provided by the location that houses the Kings of Europe.
Real Madrid completed a Remontada over PSG in this Champions League already, proving the magic of the Bernabeu is still very much intact. And as if that were not enough, they had a Remontada within a Remontada from the opposition, surviving a Chelsea comeback scare by scoring two late goals of their own to rescue themselves from elimination.
The heart this Real Madrid team has is incomparable, and we certainly saw examples of that grit in the 4-3 result at the Etihad. Despite being overmatched, Los Blancos never gave up, and their star players had the individual quality to counter City’s collective and tactical superiority. That was, of course, the story throughout the tie against another great Premier League side, Chelsea.
We keep talking about DNA and the Magic of the Bernabeu in 2022, and that’s because Los Merengues keep reinforcing it with their performances. Heck, we even saw comeback magic most recently at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, with Real overturning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 win at the death against their former LaLiga title rivals.
There is something different about this Real Madrid team, and while it is more intangible to individual players and statistics, it feels very much real. Most importantly, it feels real to the supporters and the team itself.
Lessons learned
We have seen in multiple Champions League matches this season that Real Madrid are at their best defensively when Ferland Mendy is at left back, David Alaba and Eder Militao start in the middle, Casemiro anchors the midfield, and Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde are on the pitch to provide ball-winning and energy.
Camavinga and Valverde were key in the second leg against PSG, and Cama’s performance in the second leg against Chelsea at the end was unforgettable. At Manchester City, Toni Kroos struggled as badly as he did in the second leg vs. Chelsea, though he was not taken out until late. We did see Camavinga enter the pitch for Rodrygo Goes, with Fede moving from midfield to the right wing position.
Carlo Ancelotti has been more willing to learn from mistakes and adapt recently, which has led to positive results, such as the advancement against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in the quarterfinals.
He may have to make the very tough decision to leave one of his best attackers, Rodrygo, on the bench and one of his legendary players, Kroos, on the sidelines as well in the second leg. I do not know if he will have the strength to make such a move with Kroos, who is not an easy player to bench under any circumstances.
But from what we have seen with where he struggles and what Camavinga offers, it is possible.
Less risky, of course, is using Camavinga in a similar manner to Rodrygo. As an early substitute if it is clear a change is needed based on the flow of the game. Ancelotti is learning more about his squad after joining the team this summer, and his trust for Camavinga and Fede has grown with each passing week.
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He has learned that he can use these young players, as well as Rodrygo in attack and even Dani Ceballos, who was brilliant at Osasuna and quietly strong off the bench at City. Ancelotti’s increased knowledge and confidence in the squad could be decisive in what will surely be another nail-biting second half at the Bernabeu.