Guardiola’s 6 challenges against Real Madrid

He City of Manchester of Pep Guardiola visit this Tuesday (9:00 pm) the Santiago Bernabeu with the aim that the result is very different from the one obtained last year, when it was the real Madrid sealed his ticket for the final of Champions League with incredible returns. With the lesson learned and once again a semifinal tie (this time in Madrid and back in Manchester), Pep and his team face different challenges brought about by the fact of measuring themselves against a team like of the ancelotti. Some are complicated, but all can be overcome.

Extend the state of grace ‘citizen’

Manchester City have not lost since Tottenham surprised them on matchday 22 of the Premier League. Three months ago, at the beginning of February, and since then Pep Guardiola’s men have played a total of 20 matches between the Champions League, Premier and FA Cup, accumulating no more and no less than 17 win and got only 3 draws. Nottingham Forest, Leipzig and Bayern were the three teams that managed to avoid defeat against Pep’s men and in the case of the two German teams, which he faced in the round of 16 and quarterfinals of the Champions League, it didn’t matter because it was over also qualifying for the next round. Thanks to this state of grace, he managed to overcome Arsenal by a considerable distance in the fight for the Premier title. It’s not easy to maintain competitive tension over time and Manchester City do it like a charm.

2

Avoid the impact and magic of the Bernabéu

Surely when Pep Guardiola’s students and Santpedor’s own coach take to the pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu tomorrow at 9:00 pm, they will remember what happened last season, when Real Madrid pulled off a tie when it seemed impossible . The so-called ‘magic of the Bernabéu’ intervened here, something between the esoteric and the irrational. This is the intangible effect of a scenario like the white coliseum on the rival, and although it is unavoidable, the damage can be minimized. This time it was the first leg and not the second leg where Real Madrid were playing at home and that seemed to be an advantage for City. At least not an obvious drawback. Guardiola’s men must prevent player number 12 from having a potentially damaging impact. In this sense, he must know how to ‘play’ the tempo of the game. Manchester City may be victorious, but at all costs they must avoid losing more than the Etihad Stadium guarantees will rule the passing of the sentence.

3

Avoid the exchange of blows

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City has proven to be a team that dominates in a variety of registers despite the fact that its essence is to be the protagonist through the ball. Without going any further, so far this season we have seen the ‘citizen’ box dominate rivals with ball possession percentages below 50%. Just 36% was needed in February to beat Arsenal 1-3 at the Emirates and 44% was enough to endorse Bayern 3-0 in the first leg of its Champions League quarterfinals. However, in the case of having Real Madrid as a rival, beyond the percentage of the ball they have accumulated, Manchester City must dominate the game calmly and avoid at all costs that the matches pass as an exchange of blows. If he does, he will have a lot to win in this tie. With football players like Benzema, Vinicius or Rodrygo, this exchange of blows does not seem to be a plan in favor of the interest of Manchester City which would be good if it brings the game to a low rev.

4

Take advantage of the ‘Haaland factor’ to the maximum

He didn’t score on Saturday against Leeds United, but Erling Haaland is in great form and will of course be one of Pep Guardiola’s main weapons for this tie. The Norwegian striker has scored 18 goals in the last 12 games in which he has participated (he only failed to find the target against Saturday and previously against Sheffield United in the FA Cup) and will face the rivalry at the Santiago Bernabéu knowing that the a large part of the spotlight will focus on him. It’s a situation similar to what Kylian Mbappé and PSG experienced last season. Surely Pep Guardiola has prepared something special to make the most of Haaland’s virtues. In this sense, it is also necessary to consider that Eder Militao will not play due to suspension. A priori, and unless Nacho makes it into the ‘eleven’, Rüdiger and Alaba will form the central duo in charge of trying to stop the frustrated Haaland

5

Stop Vinicius and disconnect Benzema

Controversies aside, Vinicius is the most unbalanced footballer in the world today. Every time he makes contact with the ball, he gives off an undeniable sense of danger. Pep Guardiola is well aware of this and must protect himself against such an event. It remains to be seen whether there is a man upon whom the responsibility of being above the consciousness of Vinicius falls. It is unlikely to be a task reserved for one player, although Kyle Walker, John Stones and Manuel Akanji seem most likely to star in duels with the Brazilian in the ‘citizen’ retreat. On the other hand, it would also benefit Pep Guardiola if he had a plan to disconnect Benzema as much as possible. When the Frenchman is uncomfortable and doesn’t play very often, all of Real Madrid’s attacking play suffers. Secondary players like Rodrygo or Valverde cannot be lost sight of, but stopping Vinicius and disconnecting Benzema are ‘sine qua non’ conditions.

6

Getting it right through interventionism

Beyond the fact that without the ‘magic of the Bernabéu’ it probably wouldn’t have happened, the fact is that last year’s return also responded to the purely football aspect. In particular, as Ancelotti is known to be more successful than Pep Guardiola in terms of changes to their respective game plans and substitutions made during the semi-final second leg of the Champions League. Ancelotti did not hesitate when it came to removing Kroos, Casemiro and Modric from the field of play to bring in Rodrygo, Camavinga and Asensio and Guardiola did not know how to successfully respond to that movement. Far from backing down, as the final result seemed fitting, he continued to be true to himself and looked for a second goal (it was 0-1) that would be decisive. That’s why Grealish came in close to scoring and didn’t. Getting interventionism right is key.