The expected confrontation today, Tuesday, 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 the present in the world of European football.
When the ownership of City transferred in the summer of 2008 to the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, winning the Champions League was the paramount goal, and the “Citizens” were very close to achieving the dream last season before falling in the last obstacle to his compatriot Chelsea.
Now, City’s dream collides with a confrontation with a team considered the “king” of the Champions League with its 13 record titles, the first of which dates back to 1956 on its way to monopolizing it for five consecutive seasons, the last of which was in 2018 when it 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 his career was stopped by Real Madrid in particular, before the English team achieved its revenge in the 2019-2020 season by excluding the Royal Club from the final price by winning it back and forth.
As for Real, it is entering the semi-finals for the thirtieth time in its history, which shows the size of the gap between the two teams in terms of history and tradition.
But the word is now for the present, and City, led by Spanish coach Josep Guardiola, showed that he is one of the best teams in the old continent, and he proved this in the previous round by excluding the other pole of the Spanish capital, Atlético Madrid, by defeating him in the first leg 1-0 and drawing with him in the second leg zero-0.
Guardiola, who won the title twice as coach of Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, commented on facing a team of Real’s caliber, saying, “It is the third time that we are in the semi-finals of the Champions League and we will face a team that has many Champions League trophies in its coffers, and he continued: It is expected that it will be A special evening to enjoy. We have to give everything we have and then we’ll see what happens.
After defeating Osasuna 3-1 away on Wednesday in a meeting in which Benzema missed two penalties within 7 minutes, Ancelotti said: “I am not thinking regarding when we will win the La Liga title, we are completely focused on the Champions League semi-finals and preparing for the confrontation with everything we have.”
He continued: After the match once morest Manchester City, we will think regarding these matches. We are planning to prepare well for the Champions League semi-finals and then we will see what happens and if we need to beat Espanyol, we only focus on the Champions League and arrive with a good dynamic. We are in good shape, committed and excited.
Ancelotti hopes to go down in history as the first coach to win the title of the continental competition four times, following he had previously won it three times with Milan in 2003, 2007 and Real in 2014.
Ancelotti is the only coach who won the title three times and reached the final on another occasion in 2005 when Milan lost once morest Liverpool on penalties following a 3-3 draw in the original and extra time of a historical match stuck in the minds, during which Rossoneri advanced with three clean goals before Steven Gerrard returned and his companions from afar.
