A week after a fiery first leg, Real Madrid and Manchester City meet on Wednesday evening at the Bernabéu to appoint the second guest for a C1 final which will be played at the Stade de France at the end of the month. It is also two visions of football that will be debated: the football of individuals against that of collective expression.
05/03/2022 – 21:00
C1 – Half
“There is no secret: we work hard every day. » Thus Karim Benzema, who arrived without a map and without a compass in 2009 in Madrid before gradually becoming one of the sharpest adventurers on one of the most unique islands in the history of football, came to put the end to a funny evening last Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. The French striker, who was then competing in the 600and match of his life in the jersey of Real, is no longer 21, but now 34, and continues to chain miracles at the heart of a season where he has fun overflowing the pot more than ever. We can talk about it with figures – 42 goals scored in 42 games played in all competitions, including 14 in 10 Champions League games, and 13 assists – but also with images: Benzema is today the symbol of a mysterious, but happy Real, winner this weekend of 35and title of Spanish champion in its history, which proudly represents the football of the players. A football, led by a son of peasants turned wise coach whose qualities as a peacemaker break down borders, which combines chaos rather than order, shines thanks to the ideas of individualities installed in a simple framework and can be a confusing object of study.
“They don’t do fuss. If you don’t push them, they push you. For more than thirty years, Real have approached their matches as if they were arm wrestling. They experience each meeting as a duel. » Xavi
Wednesday evening, in a Santiago-Bernabéu whose powers have been deciphered for the umpteenth time during the hours preceding the absorption of PSG by the irrational in the previous round, a new episode will be played out: beaten by ‘ a hair on the scoreboard (4-3) by City during a first round which saw him despite everything being devoured over long sequences, Real, miraculously still alive in this confrontation, on the occasion to join the seventeenth C1 final in its history. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City is superior to him, however, by far, but Real remains Real, which Xavi had perfectly detailed after a defeat of PSG at the Bernabéu (3-1) in February 2018: “I have already experienced this with Barça. You say to yourself: « Fuck, we’re playing better than them. » You hit the post, and then you think: « Ouch, ouch, ouch, why didn’t she come home this one… » There, you barely have time to lament that Real has already scored you a goal on the counter-attack. With them there is no « AIE Aie Aie » or of « ouch, ouch, ouch ». They don’t do fuss. If you don’t push them, they push you. For more than thirty years, Real have approached their matches as if they were arm wrestling. They experience each meeting as a duel. They look you straight in the eye and they challenge you. Want to attack? Go ahead, we’ll do it too, but if you don’t score, we’ll put it in. »
A personality test and a party to go on
Pep Guardiola knows this story like the back of his hand, and that’s why he presented this semi-final second leg in Madrid as a » personality test » for his men. In his master class recently given to The Coach’s Voicededicated to Liverpool’s exploit against Barça in May 2019, Pep Lijnders, Jürgen Klopp’s assistant, insists that the players’ worst enemy is » the doubt » . Which brings us back to the very essence of what City is: a representative of the football of plans, worked circuits, collective expression. During the fireworks of the first leg, it was thanks to their certainties and their collective superiority that the Mancunians led by two goals on three occasions and several recipes worked since the arrival of Guardiola on the bench of City have been served on the table. The first two goals scored by the Citizens notably came from a classic movement, where City’s opponent is stretched on both sides across the width to create doubts, overcrowding and spaces to attack for other offensive players thrown more than placed.
We also saw, pell-mell, the ability of the locals to put their guests in an emergency situation, the centrals taking initiatives with the ball at their feet or even a player (Zinchenko) occupying three roles in the same meeting. However, that was not enough: Pep Guardiola also saw his men, more brilliant in transition than in the attack phases where Real did not concede much, crunch several golden opportunities. During this first debate, the level gap between a well-honed City and a Real who above all was clever enough to convert the small doors opened by his opponent often seemed colossal. Two visions of football clashed, almost two visions of life, and the evening at the Bernabéu will have to reward one of them. Real, deprived of David Alaba for this return, are now relieved of the stress of a title race, unlike Manchester City, who had to wait until the second half of their trip to Leeds to have a little fun last Saturday. Everything seems to be able to happen and it is likely that a bit of everything will happen in this semi-final second leg which should, once again, push tactical considerations into the background. Turn on the lights. May the party continue.
By Maxime Brigand
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