Already tonight it will be clear which teams will meet in the Champions League final on May 28. Last night Madrid's "Atletico" reached the final, and today Madrid's "Real" and "Manchester City" are waiting for a duel for the second ticket to the final. Eurofootball.com presents you the preview of this match, which will start at 21:45 Lithuanian time.
"Real" - "Manchester City"
First match:
In the first meeting between these teams in Manchester, no goals were scored, so the series result is tied at 0-0.
What happened after the first match:
Over the weekend, these teams had different results in their local championships. "Real" changed almost half of their team lineup (letting 5 new players on the field) and won 1-0 away against "Real Sociedad". Gareth Bale scored the only goal in these matches.
Meanwhile, "Manchester City" made changes in their lineup by replacing 8 players compared to the previous match, but it did not bring them positive results. They lost 2-4 against "Southampton". Kelechi Iheanacho scored both goals for them.
Team losses and returns:
The most successful Champions League player Cristiano Ronaldo, who couldn't play in the first match due to injury, has returned to training and should appear on the field from the very first moments of the match. However, "Real" will not have a full lineup - due to injuries, Karim Benzema and Casemiro will not be able to help the team.
In this match, "City" will have defender Yaya Toure back from injury. The visitors have two injured players - David Silva and Pablo Zabaleta.
What coaches said before the match:
"It will be very, very tough match. It will not be like the last match against Wolfsburg. We did not score two goals in fifteen minutes. We will suffer for 90 minutes, maybe even 120. We really want to reach the final, and if we fail, it will be a huge failure," - said "Real" coach Zinedine Zidane.
"Santiago Bernabeu" will have huge pressure, so it will be very important for us to be focused. But we have the right personalities, mentality, and play the style of football that we can deal with it. This team looks very good in the matches not only this season but in all three seasons. We defeated "Roma" and "Bayern" away and achieved good results in the last stage in Paris. These are important matches for the club, and I know how lucky we are because you can't play in the Champions League semi-finals every season. We are ready for it, and we will try to change history," - said "Manchester City" coach Manuel Pellegrini before the match.
Predicted lineups:
"Real" (4-3-3): Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric, Isco; Bale, Ronaldo, Vazquez
"Manchester City" (4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; J Navas, Yaya Toure, De Bruyne; Aguero.
Key facts before the match:
This season in the Champions League, "Real" not only won all five matches at home but also did not concede a single goal, scoring 18 themselves;
"Manchester City" has not lost in the Champions League knockout stage away (1 win, 1 draw);
"Real" has not lost to English clubs in their last nine matches (6 wins, 3 draws). The last time an English team eliminated Madrid club from the Champions League was in the 2008-2009 season when "Liverpool" did it;
This season, "Real" team has the most shots of all Champions League teams (an average of 21.2 per match);
Cristiano Ronaldo directly contributed to 77% of all "Real" goals this season (20 out of 26). He is also just one goal away from equaling his own competition record (he scored 17 goals in the 2013-2014 season);
"Manchester City" is the only team among all participating players in the semifinals who do not have a representative in the top fifteen most successful scorers. The most successful players for them in the Champions League - Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling scored 3 goals each and share the 16th position in the list of most successful players.
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
