Carlo Ancelotti defeated Pep Guardiola to knock Manchester City out of the Champions League and send Real Madrid to the final. Here's how he did it.
Pep Guardiola was defeated by Carlo Ancelotti.
While Pep Guardiola was primarily to blame for City's demise, Carlo Ancelotti made several tactical modifications to help Real Madrid win the tie.
Don Carlo made three crucial alterations to enable one of the most remarkable comebacks in Champions League history.
Real Madrid began the game in a 4-4-2 diamond configuration, with Fede Valverde having the freedom to join the front two, Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema.That worked to minimize Manchester City's midfield domination, but it left Real Madrid with little offensive options, which was a problem given their deficit.
In the 68th minute, Ancelotti made a change by removing Toni Kroos out and replacing him with Rodrygo, allowing Valverde to focus on his midfield duties while Los Blancos finally had a forward three.
Rodrygo's fast brace helped Real Madrid reach yet another Champions League final.
Rodrygo's fast brace helped Real Madrid reach yet another Champions League final.
Despite the fact that Madrid conceded five minutes after the switch, Rodrygo aided the comeback with two late goals.
Ancelotti reacted after Mahrez scored to put Manchester two goals ahead on aggregate.Casemiro was replaced by Marco Asensio, and Luka Modric was replaced by Edouardo Camavinga, changing the formation from 4-3-3 to 4-2-1-3.
With defeat and virtually likely elimination looming, Ancelotti realized he had little choice except to go for broke, especially with Pe Guardiola exhibiting symptoms of concern.Real Madrid began to become more aggressive with five minutes remaining in the game, making Guardiola uncomfortable and prompting him to play his hand.
The City manager substituted Fernadinho for the goalscorer in the hopes of securing the game and bolstering the defense, but it backfired.It turned out that keeping possession of the ball was more important than giving it up easily and expecting the 37-year-old Fernandinho to keep Madrid from scoring.
Ancelotti, who had been there and done it before, detected blood in the water, and his players responded by launching a barrage of crosses and advancing the ball into the opposition penalty area more times in the last minutes than they had all game.
It obviously paid off, as Rodrygo scored two thrilling late goals to take the game to extra time, and then sealed his place in the final with a penalty from Karim Benzema.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0