At some time in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City will have to once again survive a storm.
Vinicius Junior will eventually have a say in the game, even if they dominate it and Real Madrid gladly gives up territory.
What City accomplished on Tuesday night at the Bernabeu was something they were unable to accomplish at the same stadium construction site the previous year.
City's defense stood strong as they were pushed back. A year ago, they gave in.
By persevering through their challenging period, which occurred in the 20 minutes following halftime, Pep Guardiola's team earned the opportunity to negotiate a way back into the match, which was secured by Kevin De Bruyne's breathtaking equalizer.
Real appeared ready to score a second goal and had promising scoring opportunities, but desperate plays by John Stones and Kyle Walker kept the score from rising further.
Since the middle of January, a span of 24 games has passed without City conceding more than one goal in a contest.
The City manager has been given permission to pack the middle with more confidence in what is behind, according to Guardiola, who recently claimed that his defenders are stronger at defending in one-on-one scenarios this season.
Haaland must be included in the strategy for the coming week.
Guardiola will review the first leg in the days to come, but he is confident that he has already seen enough to devise a slightly different strategy that will give City the best chance to advance to another final.
However, it is doubtful that he will select players with more direct attacking tendencies, with Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden being passed over for the right flank position by Bernardo Silva.
When maintaining possession as they progress through the thirds, Silva gives a more methodical alternative and is a safer choice against opponents who can wreak havoc on the counterattack.
However, it will be crucial to ensure that Erling Haaland is more engaged and to assist with that.
Guardiola has a tendency to insist on sticking to the game plan, so Foden might be the one to unlock that if the match becomes more tense.
Only Julian Alvarez warmed up for the final 20 minutes on Tuesday night, marking the first time since 2007 that a manager did not make a single substitution in a Champions League semifinal.
In order to be more fluid and play with a little bit more rhythm in the second leg, we may try to make some adjustments, Guardiola stated. Given how near Antonio Rudiger was to Erling, finding parking spaces was difficult.
City needs to display more set pieces
The first thirty minutes of City's performance, which was total dominance, should have yielded more results. Without really carving Real open, there were sights of the goal.
They will be somewhat disappointed that they were unable to take advantage of set-piece opportunities. One of the few areas that has not much improved since Haaland's arrival is the corner-taking department, as seven forced corners produced nothing in the way of prospective goal-scoring opportunities.
Except for penalties, City has scored 22 goals from dead ball situations this season, which is roughly in pace with the 28 goals scored in all competitions last year.
They have someone with Haaland's physique at their disposal, so they may work on it more.
De Bruyne overhit his crosses too frequently beyond the back post. One in the second half went short and seemed risky, but the Belgian quickly clipped it out of the game.
Given City's outstanding performance at the close of this season, their competitors could do without any more adjustments that would make them more powerful.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0