A year ago
The English champions found form at the right time and everything is now ready for them to finally win the European Cup.
This isn't the first time it's been said, but it looks like the stars are lining up for Manchester City in the Champions League.
1. Haaland aspires to score in the Champions League.
Any team facing Man City will have nightmares about what Haaland can do against them. In the last two Champions League matches, he has scored six goals. He scored five goals overall against RB Leipzig, and would have had six or seven if Guardiola hadn't taken it in half an hour.
But they missed a lot of obvious opportunities in the clutch moments. Haaland has scored 16 goals from his last 21 shots, which doesn't seem to matter this time around.
2. Guardiola is in his element.
How many other managers can remove their first two chosen full-backs from the team midway through the season and reinvent the defense so they barely notice their absence?
That's what Guardiola did with Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker.
3. Ruben Dias is back in top form. Haaland may have scored once again in City's win over Bayern, but the real victory went to the defence.
They limited Thomas Tuchel's side with just one shot in the first half, and although the visitors tested Ederson after the break, the Brazilian successfully saved most of the shots from long range.
Dias is a great defensive wall, blocking anything Bayern can throw at him, while Manuel Akanji and Ake are also excellent.
4. De Bruyne returns to form. The Belgian seems to have a turbulent relationship with Guardiola. He is undoubtedly the best player under the Catalan dynasty and the most talented player the coach has worked with since Lionel Messi. Earlier this month, De Bruyne became the fastest player to reach 100 assists in the Premier League.
And yet, Guardiola has often expressed displeasure with him, calling him several times this season.
Either way, the feeling of turbulence between manager and player seems to be getting the most out of the playmaker, who has had nine goals and 22 assists this season. 5.Jack Greish 2.0.
Grealish played only a small role in last season's Champions League, not starting any knockout matches.
Indeed, his involvement is mainly remembered when he got into a fight with Atletico Madrid's Stefan Savic in the tunnel and missed a big chance against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
But he succeeded in his second campaign with City, and there is an argument to be made that he is their second best player behind Haaland throughout the season.
6. Real Madrid is his only real competitor.
City may have thought they had one of the toughest draws imaginable against Bayern in the quarter-finals, but they proved no match for the Bavarians who sacked Julian Nagelsmann less than three weeks before the first leg.
If they can beat Bayern in the second leg, Real Madrid seem to be the only team standing between them and their long-awaited first Champions League title.
If Man City can beat Carlo Ancelotti's army in the semi-finals, they are ready to face a team inferior in quality and experience at the highest level, be it Inter, Benfica or Italia. is AC Milan.
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