Manchester CIty shut down Xabi Alonso's future club Chelsea to win the FA Cup Final 1-0 and back their second domestic cup. And while they may fall short of Arsenal in the end, their charge to the Premier League title after being dangerously behind has been nothing short of remarkable.
In total, the Citizens have only lost 2 games in their last 24 dating back to January 24. That is an insane record, and they are on such a tear that they are one of the most in form teams in European football. But you know who beat Manchester City both times to give them their only 2 losses in those 24 matches in the last 4 months? None other than Real Madrid. Well, a different Real Madrid. The Real Madrid without Kylian Mbappe.
Now, the Real Madrid without Kylian Mbappe is not flawless. It lost 2-0 to Barcelona to officially surrender the league title, though it was also a Real Madrid with key absences in the middle of the park (Arda Guler) and in defense (Eder Militao, Dean Huijsen, Ferland Mendy, and Thibaut Courtois).
Real Madrid tore Manchester City apart like old times
But for those two legs against Manchester City when Fede Valverde did his "I'm him" and scored a hat trick that very, very midfielders of the last 10 years could score, that Real Madrid looked like the Real Madrid that dominated the 2023/24 season and barely lost en route to another Champions League title under Carlo Ancelotti (that also included a ransacking of Manchester City).
There is no doubt that Man City under Pep Guardiola with Antoine Semenyo newly added and Rayan Cherki in full flow with Erling Haaland up top is a scary, scary proposition. And that's not even getting into what a healthy Rodri and new center back Marc Guehi can do.
But Real Madrid embarrassed those guys 5-1 on aggregate, making absolute mince meat out of a Mna City team that has carved up domestic rivals Chelsea, Arsenal, and so many more in Pep Guardiola's dogged pursuit of another Premier League title.
Real Madrid without Kyilan Mbappe is like PSG without Kylian Mbappe. They are a TEAM, point blank, all caps. Fede, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and the role players like Brahim Diaz and Arda Guler are a more confident machine with the likes of Gonzalo Garcia and Thiago Pitarch the X-Fctors. As Man City continue to shine, the reminder that Real Madrid owned them without Mbappe is a reminder of what the real problem is and has been these last two years. Fin.
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