Expected today, Tuesday, the confrontation in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and its Spanish guest Real Madrid will be a struggle between history and present in the world of European football.
City’s dream faces a confrontation with a team considered the “king” of the Champions League with its record 13 titles, the first dating back to 1956, when it monopolized it for five consecutive seasons, the last being in 2018. when he was crowned three times in a row and four times in five seasons.
Before last season, City’s best result in the Champions League was reaching the semi-finals in 2016, when their career was cut short by Real Madrid in particular, before the English team achieved a rematch in the 2019-2020 season, eliminating the Royal Club from the tournament. the final price by beating him back and forth.
As for Real Madrid, they are in the semi-finals for the thirtieth time in their history, which shows the magnitude of the gap between the two teams in terms of history and tradition.
City, led by Spanish coach Josep Guardiola, showed they are one of the best teams in the old continent and they proved it in the previous round by eliminating the other pole of the Spanish capital, Atlético Madrid, beating them 1-0 in the first leg and a draw with him in the second nil-0 leg.
On his last visit to England, Real Madrid came back with a 3-1 win over defending champions Chelsea in the first leg of the quarter-finals, but he was literally around the corner to say goodbye to his favorite opponent by staying at home. with three clean sheets before scoring a goal in the 80th minute which led him to an extension in which Frenchman Karim Benzema proved himself a hero by scoring a goal to close the gap 2-3, which was enough for the Royal Club to continue his career.
Unlike City, who face stiff competition for the Premier League title with Liverpool, with a margin between them, Real Madrid need a point in Saturday’s Stage 34 clash against Espanyol to decide the title.” La Liga after Barcelona lost the postponed match with their guest, Rayo Vallecano, nil.-1 Sunday.
Ancelotti hopes to make history as the first manager to win a continental title four times, after winning it three times with AC Milan in 2003, 2007 and Real Madrid in 2014.
