Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid promises to be a shootout: a prospect that should please and concern Manuel Pellegrini. All-out attack is the manager’s default mode. His City team are built to bombard from first to last whistle. In Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Agüero, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Yaya Touré, Pellegrini has a constellation of artistes whose DNA teems with the front-foot-forward stuff.
These are the prime positives in meeting a Real outfit whose ethos is precisely the same. The thinking here is that in being as open as City, Real will not try to stymie them, so Pellegrini’s men have the chance to strut their stuff against a Zinedine Zidane side vulnerable at the back.
The prime negatives, though, start with the in-form Cristiano Ronaldo and move on to Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and James Rodríguez: a group of forwards who appear superior to City’s.
Pellegrini should also be worried by City’s suspect defence, despite the fine display at centre-back of Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolás Otamendi in the 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Real’s pedigree as the record 10-time European Cup winners could also present a psychological barrier to Pellegrini’s side, who may feel they are fighting against the weight of history as well as against 11 footballers. As Zidane says: “Madrid are favourites, and always will be.”
Pellegrini begs to differ. He states any mental obstacle was removed when Barcelona were knocked out by Atlético Madrid on Wednesday.
The Catalan club eliminated City at the last-16 stage in the past two years, and of Barça going out Pellegrini says: “I did not celebrate. But if you ask me do I not prefer to play against them? I prefer not to play against them. When the same team beats you twice it can be a mental barrier.
“I was not happy [two years ago] because it was not the best Barcelona, but we were very unlucky with that penalty of [Martín] Demichelis we gave away in the first game [losing 2-1]. It was a very close game, which decided qualifying that year.
“The second year we played a very strong Barcelona, better than our team with Neymar, Messi and Suárez in their best moments. That’s why they won the title.”
Whereas Touré and Gaël Clichy are the only City players with experience of a European Cup semi-final – with Barça and Arsenal, respectively – Pellegrini is no stranger to the last four, having taken Villarreal to the stage in 2006 when they lost to the Gunners.
The Chilean is also the man who led City into the knockout rounds for a first time – in 2013-14, his first campaign. This came after Roberto Mancini’s final season featured a group phase that ended with no victories and three points from six matches.
Pellegrini says: “We improved a lot in Europe because you must remember that the season before [I came] this club was eliminated at the group stage. They didn’t win one game with a lot of the same players as who are playing now – Yaya, David, Kun [Agüero], Joe Hart, Clichy, Zabaleta, Kolarov. They didn’t win a game. We’ve improved but if we want to go further we must try to improve our performance without mistakes.”
City were unfancied against PSG but went through as convincing victors, 3-2 on aggregate. So they should be able to enjoy themselves against Real knowing they have already bettered last year by two rounds and made history in reaching the semi-finals.
Pellegrini says: “You need to play your best performances if you want to play at that stage of the Champions League. It’s so important to eliminate the good team, like PSG, and that gives you trust that you can play at a better level.”
Real will certainly be a step up. Barça’s domestic form has slipped to allow them a glimpse of an unlikely La Liga title. They are third on 72 points, six behind the Catalan club with six matches remaining.
This should boost Zidane’s team. The fact that they are yet to concede at home in the Champions League this season will hardly dent confidence either.
“We will do our best to go through,” Zidane says. “For sure it will be a big battle.”
A riveting spectacle, too.
