As the chorus rang out, there was an environment of defiance in the corner of the top of one of the Bernabeu stands. “City, the best team in the world,” got here the chant, which was based more on the recent past than on the evidence before them. It happened when Manchester City’s annual trip to the Bernabeu was shaping as much as be a punishing one, a day when the team appeared to have been overtaken, overthought and overvalued.
About 90 minutes later the same song played. The crowd was different – consisting of a number of City substitutes in an otherwise deserted area, but so was the tone. If there was more faith, there was a reason for it.
Scoring three away goals against a team many would consider the second best in the world strengthened their position; eliminate Real Madrid next week and you will feel stronger again. And if there was an illogical element to the beauty of City’s goals – Pep Guardiola’s style of play is characterised more by short passes than long-range shots – a hat-trick of sensible shots at the Bernabeu is greater than most teams can muster in a game in a decade, let alone an evening.
Real and City are one of Europe’s newer rivalries: Bernardo Silva has already etched his name into the team’s folklore, but now he has one other entry, joined by Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol.
Yet a match during which the lead modified hands each suddenly and commonly allowed for various conclusions to be drawn. Perhaps this was the kind of match during which City proved their greatness, during which they overcame every obstacle, from Kevin de Bruyne’s late withdrawal to Real’s energetic first half, aided by Guardiola’s tactical brilliance.
Or possibly it was the kind of game that offered a preview of the fall of empires. Real highlighted some of City’s shortcomings; if Guardiola’s side fail to dominate Europe for years to come back, as some predicted after last yr’s treble, it should probably be possible to look back on the six-goal thriller at the Bernabeu and see signs of where things were beginning to go incorrect. Scoring three wonder goals, while extremely entertaining, shouldn’t be a foolproof solution; City could easily have been 3-1 down before Foden conceded his second goal.
City have rarely looked as fallible and open as they did before the break, but they have not been as confident at the back this season. Their latest record is 2 clean sheets in nine matches; return further and it’s 10 out of 31. City conceded three goals in the Champions League knockout stages last season. They conceded three goals in a single evening in Madrid.
While the balance has not been maintained since Ilkay Gundogan’s departure, control has proven more fragile. “It is impossible to constantly control the game against Real Madrid,” Guardiola said. The problem, nevertheless, was how poor City looked after they lost control. Guardiola felt it was the kind of night where in previous years they’d have been eliminated. “This result or this match in the first three seasons combined, we would have lost 4-1 or 5-1,” he said. “We weren’t emotionally stable.”
If improved mentality brought salvation, managerial intervention and individual inspiration also brought salvation. Guardiola’s sense of working with smaller tools was highlighted by the midfield: the most significant department in most of his teams, but when Mateo Kovacic were still at Real he would rank behind Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni in an extended queue for seats. Increasingly reluctant to make use of substitutes, Guardiola made no changes until the 87th minute, but his options were limited.
De Bruyne was about to begin the game until he fell to the ground and began vomiting. City had no captain, vice-captain, consistent defender and goalkeeper. “Kyle [Walker] is not here. Nathan [Ake] is not here. “Kevin cannot play,” Guardiola detailed, without even mentioning Ederson. “We’re playing with 11. I’d rather they be here.”
In these circumstances, a draw became the higher result. “One of the secrets at high level is to adapt quickly to chaos,” Guardiola rationalized. “No time to complain.” Neither did he. With the exception of 4 key players, there was ingenuity in the way he reorganized, bringing John Stones and Silva into the middle of the pitch. In a way, the return was a triumph of the system, of the philosophy.
This season, nevertheless, City have relied more on individuals.
Two of their big players were ineffective: Erling Haaland because he featured in too many big games, and Rodri, which was uncharacteristic of him. Individuals provided salvation through moments of magic. Spectacular, yes; Balanced? The statistics suggest so, but the way it happens may suggest otherwise.
City left the Bernabeu unbeaten in the Champions League in 22 games and, for nearly two years, unbeaten in all competitions in 25 games. It’s a record of their best, and an evening that showed that they’ll stay that way, or that they may be knocked from their perch.
Credit : www.independent.co.uk
