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Kevin De Bruyne starts on the bench, where he may have steam coming out of his ears. Ederson stays among the subs too, so Stefan Ortega starts in goal. Mateo Kovacic joins Rodri in the pivot, and Jack Grealish edges out Jeremy Doku on the left.
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Hello, good evening and welcome to what should be a gripping cup-tie. In the white corner, the most successful club in the history of European competition. In the light-blue corner, the leading club in the world at the moment. This is their seventh meeting in five years, every one in the Champions League knock-out stages.
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Real Madrid may have 14 European Cups, but last time they ran into Manchester City, in a CL semi-final last May, they lost 4-0. And City are scoring freely again now, with four apiece in their last two games after a stodgy spell. But Pep Guardiola has been doing his best to play down the chances of a repeat. “Beating Real Madrid twice in a row is impossible,” he said yesterday, with his usual understatement. “They have learned and will want revenge. They have pride.”
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Up to a point, Lord Guardiola. Last year felt like the turning of the tide. Real had only squeezed past City in the 2022 semi-final by the skin of their teeth, relying on goals from Rodrygo in the 90th and 95th minute to scrape into extra-time, then winning a penalty to complete their comeback from 0-1 to 3-1.
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This time though, Real have three trump cards. They are unbeaten at home since last April. Tonight’s first leg is the 200th Champions League game for Carlo Ancelotti, the most successful manager in the tournament’s history. And Real have Jude Bellingham, who has become a superstar since Ancelotti converted him into a false nine.
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It’s going to be fascinating to see him take on a City defence that is missing the pace of Kyle Walker and the composure of Nathan Ake. The central duel could well be between an Englishman playing in Spain and a Spaniard playing in England – the mighty Bellingham and the masterly Rodri.
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Kick-off is at 9pm in Madrid, 8pm BST. All being well, I’ll be back soon with the teams.
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important events
Team overview: Nacho also on the bench
There was also a surprise addition to the bench from Real — captain Nacho. Aurélien Choameny returns to defense in his place, while Eduardo Camavinga takes over as the holder of the midfield diamond.
Team overview: De Bruyne joins Ederson on the bench
Kevin De Bruyne will start on the bench and may have steam coming out of his ears. Ederson will also remain as a sub, with Stefan Ortega starting in goal. Mateo Kovacic joins Rodri on the pivot, with Jack Grealish outpacing Jeremy Doku on the left.
preamble
Good day Good evening. And welcome to the charming cup tie. In the white corner lies the most successful club in the history of European competition. Light blue corner, the world’s leading club at the moment. This is the seventh meeting between the two teams in the last five years, both of which took place in the Champions League knockout stages.
Real Madrid have played in the European Cup 14 times, but the last time they faced Manchester City was in the Champions League semi-finals in May last year, where they lost 4-0. And after a period of uncertainty, City are scoring freely again, with four goals in each of their last two games. However, manager Josep Guardiola is doing his best to keep the chances of it happening again low. “It’s impossible to win against Real Madrid twice in a row,” he said yesterday, with his usual understatement. “They will learn and want revenge. They have pride.”
To a certain extent, Sir Guardiola. Last year, it felt like the tide had turned. Real narrowly defeated City in the 2022 semi-finals, relying on goals from Rodrygo in the 90th and 95th minutes to send the game into extra time, before winning a penalty and coming back from 1-0 down. 3-1.
But this time, Real have three trump cards. They have been undefeated at home since April last year. Tonight’s first leg will be the 200th Champions League game for Carlo Ancelotti, the most successful manager in the competition’s history. And Real have Jude Bellingham, who has become a superstar since Ancelotti converted him into a false nine.
It will be interesting to see him play against a City defense that lacks the speed of Kyle Walker or the composure of Nathan Ake. The central duel is likely to be between the Englishman playing in Spain versus the Spaniard playing in England, the mighty Bellingham and the master Rodri.
Kick-off is 9pm in Madrid, 8pm BST. All is well and I will be returning to the team soon.
