Real Madrid have been showing off their experience in the Champions League this season. When many teams would give up, Real Madrid have shown resiliency and they have been rewarded.
Despite falling 2-0 on aggregate to PSG, a Karim Benzema hat trick on the iconic Santiago Bernabeu propelled them through. Then, in the quarterfinals, they fell down 3-0 at home to Chelsea, just for Rodrygo to score off of a wonderful pass by Luka Modric, and then Benzema scored the winner in overtime. Now, they are set up to meet with Manchester City in the semifinals in their most daunting task yet.
Without further ado, let's look at three bold Real Madrid predictions for their Champions League semifinals first leg vs. Manchester City.
Bold Real Madrid Predictions versus Manchester City
Carlo Ancelotti will tactically reign supreme over Pep Guardiola
When it comes to experience, no one can match Real Madrid. A ton of their players have experience winning the Champions League, the club has won it 13 times in its history, and they have a manager that has won this title three times, an honor that Ancelotti shares only with Zinedine Zidane and Bob Paisley.
Of course, Pep Guardiola is not far behind, as he has looked for that elusive third Champions League title and his first outside of Barcelona. Still, his relatively young career in coaching cannot be compared to the Italian veteran, who was already coaching for 10 years when the Spaniard was wrapping up his playing career.
While that seems irrelevant, the semifinals of the Champions League is where the quality really starts to matter less and less. In extreme cases, like the case of Liverpool and Villarreal, there can be a large talent disparity, but generally speaking, everyone in the semifinals deserves to be there. Thus, it will come down to the tactical genius of the managers, where Ancelotti will destroy Guardiola. The Spanish manager, with respect to his titles in Barcelona, tends to massively overthink scenarios in huge games, and his Manchester City team, despite their strength domestically, has not looked amazing in Europe. Real Madrid also had bad moments, but they also showcased how Ancelotti can inspire his team to succeed.
It is not always pretty, but it has worked wonders this year for Real Madrid.
Karim Benzema will continue proving that he is the best player on the planet
A once binary view of the best player in the world has lately turned into a discussion with a lot of candidates.
Some would say Mohamed Salah, some Kylian Mbappe, but the consensus this season seems to be Karim Benzema. Who can blame people who say the Frenchman is the best? He is the leading goalscorer in La Liga, where Real Madrid are comfortably first, and the only player besides Cristiano Ronaldo with back-to-back hat tricks in Champions League history. He clearly lives for big moments, even scoring the eventual tie-winner versus Chelsea in overtime at the Bernabeu. While that moment was big, proving your worth against the likely repeat English champions would be even more significant.
There is some method behind what Benzema was able to do this season, primarily due to the explosion of Vinicius Jr. It points to Benzema having his outright best season that Vinicius turned from a pacy winger to a real threat on the Real Madrid left wing. Of course, Benzema also played well in the last few years, since Ronaldo left, but this has been his best year in Real Madrid colors.
As they will both be fit for the game at the Etihad, Benzema will be on the attack, challenging the Manchester City defense from the first moment. It is doubtful they will be able to fully contain the Frenchman, despite the quality that Ruben Dias and John Stones possess.
Real Madrid will be winning the first game
There is a simple and complex explanation behind this prediction. The simple one is that Real Madrid have the quality to do it and the Champions League is simply their competition. The complex one starts with some match-specific circumstances.
For instance, Real Madrid will not be playing for six days before the clash, while City will have a game on Saturday, the 23rd of April, one they need to win to remain first in the Premiership. Clearly, Real Madrid should be fresher and devoid of major injuries coming into the clash, except for the nagging ankle issues of Eden Hazard and some muscle problems for Ferland Mendy and Marcelo.
Looking at it tactically, Manchester City have had huge issues with defending this year. This is somewhat covered by an excellent midfield that can retain possession, but every time they lose possession and are subject to counter attacks, there are issues for the Citizens. Real Madrid, with their pacy wingers in Vinicius and Rodrygo, combined with the ball-carrying abilities of primarily Modric and Valverde, are perfectly suited for countering City. Additionally, the Real Madrid midfield is stronger than most in Europe, so it will not be an easy task for City to retain possession and control of the game.
Thus, a Real Madrid win in the first leg would not be as unusual as some football fans might see it.
Follow Us
Subscribe