The Soccer Whiz: Crack stalemate at the Bernabeu

By Zak Hawa | May. 14, 2023

Manchester City and Real Madrid

I’M not sure about everyone else, but the Real Madrid first leg clash against Manchester City in Madrid at the Bernabeu had me totally enthralled.

It might not have been a repeat of last year’s frenetic late goal fiesta but this Champions League semi between the top two teams in the modern game was top draw and had it all.

At the end of ninety pulsating minutes, we were left in no doubt that we had witnessed a classic battle between two evenly matched giants with key duels in all parts of the pitch.

Future Ballon d’or contender Vinicius might have scored a real gem against the run of play, but Kyle Walker definitely also had his say, matching him stride for stride and making sure it wasn’t a walk in the park.

Unlucky, unlikely to ever be crowned as Ballon d’or winner, Kevin De Bruyne might have stunned his Belgium colleague Thibaut Courtois in goal for Real with the hardest strike of a European semi-final clash this century, but that was about the only hazard he was allowed to contribute in a clash where he was on the periphery and kept mainly under wraps.

Meanwhile, the mega star attractions Erling Haaland and Karim Benzema were on the whole subdued and neutralised by the stone wall defensive shields of Antonio Rudiger for Real and Ruben Diaz for City.

The match ended one goal apiece and in the balance with massive anticipation of next week’s return leg.

From a pure footballing perspective this tie was uplifting, it was sheer excitement and it left me wishing that this had been the final rather than the semi.

Keep Reading

This was the evidence,the official confirmation that Manchester City and Real Madrid are by some distance the greatest club sides in world football.

With respect to both Milan clubs, I can honestly say that either Real or City will be deserving winners of Europe’s premier prize as there is really very little to separate them this year.

Over the last twelve months Manchester City appear to have matured, appear to be more streetwise and appear to be ready to fight for their lives to bring home the one trophy that has so far eluded them in spite of their absolute local EPL dominance.

This year’s version of Manchester City are more conservative, more canny, more consistent and more controlled.

They will not make the same errors in this competition of yesteryear where a combination of immaturity, arrogance (on the part of both the players and Pep!) and negligence caused them routinely to fail at the last hurdle.

This Manchester City side who have suffered in Europe often against lesser sides are mentally tougher now, more physically resilient and primed to deal with adversity.

The biggest praise I can extend to Pep is that his side are also ridiculously almost as comfortable now in the art of defending as they are in the art of attacking and that is high praise indeed for a side who usually resemble an occupation force camped in the opposition half.

If this is the case, why then do we still have the very likely and realistic possibility that Manchester City may yet again crash out of the Champions League and be forced to console themselves with another expected equivalent of a wooden spoon EPL title?

Why then after a season which started slowly but in which they have now clawed back what seemed at one stage like an unassailable Arsenal lead, why then after seemingly peaking at the perfect time and with all their players at the top of their game and in fantastic physical condition, why then after Pep has so expertly blended in the final piece in the jigsaw-match winning Erling Haaland, why then…is there still this nagging doubt that they may not be able to get past the finish line to the utopia of Champions League glory they so desperately crave?

Unfortunately it’s because their fate may not ultimately rest in their own hands.

It’s because when all is said and done, getting over the line is easier said than done when it comes to opposition like Real Madrid.

It’s because defeating Real Madrid in a semi-final of the Champions League may have less to do with City’s all round magnificence and game plan, but rather more or rather all to do with Madrid’s obsession with a trophy which usually sees them able to conjure up victory after victory even when it’s clearly plain to see that they are not the best side on the pitch.

They are the royal aristocracy of football, they are Real Madrid who lead the Champions League board with a whopping 14 successes, five of them which have come in the last 10 years alone.

It’s worth bearing in mind that these recent titles were won when Messi reigned supreme as the standout footballer in the world and his Barcelona were usually the best team in La Liga.

Manchester City too have in this past decade been the major force in the EPL but have however yet to get off the mark in Europe.

In a nutshell, Madrid have this affinity, this bond, this love affair with a trophy they consider their own!

Of course it does help that they are also an absolutely crack brilliant side with out of this world talented match winners headed by Vinicius, Benzema and Modric.

Madrid will enter the Etihad on Wednesday with a swashbuckling confidence, with an aura, a self-belief that they will succeed and I fear that unless City can produce something extraordinary, then they will be rendered ordinary by the less than ordinary men in black.

The net effect of another failed Manchester City European campaign will be a feeling of emptiness, a sense of renewed failure, a sense of helplessness and futility.

If that is what transpires and City are foiled and Pep fails again in Europe, I’d be keen to assess the mental state of Pep Guardiola who will surely be asking himself the question if he’s destined to never win the coveted European prize again.

Bare in mind that he has only enjoyed this pinnacle of success while manager of Barcelona and been unsuccessful thus far with two stellar clubs in Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

With Messi committed to leaving PSG and with a genuine campaign underway to get him to return to his beloved Barcelona, ought Pep Guardiola likewise to be considering a move back to his hometown where together with Messi and company, Barcelona bossed Europe and became the best club side in the world.

Only this week, Sergio Busquets a member of those famous all-conquering Barcelona and Spanish national sides, announced that he was quitting Barcelona at the end of the season.

Is such a premature announcement on Busquet’s Barca retirement purely advance sensible planning by Busquets or an early indication that Barcelona are serious about Messi’s return?

The reality is that in order to get Mission Messi into gear and on track, Busquets and other high paid staff deemed surplus to requirements have to be offloaded and soon!

What does this mean for the likes of Jordi Alba and Sergio Roberto?

More importantly, are Barcelona willing to part with their young prized jewels like Gavi and Ansu Fati whose sales might make Messi’s arrival a genuine possibility?

On the other hand, perhaps Barcelona fans can start fantasizing again of Messi and Guardiola reunited at Barcelona and teaming up with the likes of Pedri, Frenkie de Jong,Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski.

Fast forward to May 2024……Barcelona are crowned champions of Europe again! With that line up and with Guardiola in charge, it’s eminently possible!