Ten facts and curiosities from the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium.
Madrid has never won at the Etihad Stadium
Just as Stamford Bridge was until the victory in the first leg of the quarterfinals, another stadium appears on Madrid’s road to the dream final in Paris in which it never won. At the Etihad Stadium he recorded two draws and conceded a defeat on his last visit that caused his last elimination in the round of 16. Only in that meeting was it zero. Real Madrid scored in two of their three visits to City.
Only Benzema scored in Manchester
The two goals in the three visits made in the Champions League from Real Madrid to City carried the signature of Karim Benzema. The benchmark madridista goalscorer has scored 12 goals in 9 games in this edition and if he scores he will become the top scorer hunting down Robert Lewandowski. The French striker has scored 7 goals in his last three games. He equaled Cristiano Ronaldo as the only player to achieve two successive hat-tricks in knockout matches, against PSG and Chelsea. His season is summed up by 39 goals in 40 games in all competitions. It is the great white hope.
No goal against City in the knockout rounds
The strength of Pep Guardiola’s team is reflected in their defensive work. Since he conceded his last goal on the last day of the group stage of this edition of the Champions League, against Leipzig, he has not conceded any in the four qualifying matches. Neither Sporting de Portugal in the round of 16 nor Atlético de Madrid in the quarterfinals were able to score against a team that has been unbeaten for 379 minutes in European competition.
Ancelotti, winner
Despite the fact that Pep Guardiola comes out the winner in the head-to-head of coaches, with four wins against Carlo Ancelotti when the Italian was in charge of Everton in recent seasons, the only precedent that exists in the semifinals of the Champions League left the coach of the Real Madrid. The show of power left a total 5-0 in the tie, with a 0-4 against Bayern Munich in the second leg at the Allianz Arena that was a boost towards the white team’s tenth European Cup.
Courtois, the one who most for
With 43 saves in the 10 games played (4.3 key saves per game) and 9 goals conceded (0.9), Thibaut Courtois is shining in the Champions League. On four occasions he kept a clean sheet and he is playing a decisive role in the path of Real Madrid. His rival, Ederson, barely made 10 saves in 9 games (1.12 on average per game).
The Etihad, a fortress in Europe
Since Lyon stormed the Etihad Stadium on September 19, 2018 (1-2), Manchester City have not lost a Champions League match in front of their fans. It’s already 3 years, 7 months and 7 days until the visit of Real Madrid. Undefeated in their last 19 European games, with a devastating record of 17 wins and 2 draws. They have won 11 of their last 12 games and the tie they lost was in a tie, the round of 16 of this edition against Sporting de Portugal, which had already been sentenced with a win in the first leg.
Ancelotti’s pending account
Manchester City is a team that the Italian coach was never good at, but the Champions League is his competition. He seeks to become the most successful coach with what would be his fourth conquest. From the Etihad he was always defeated in four visits, two at the controls of Chelsea and another two directing Everton. And in the total of duels, he lost six of seven confrontations. Only on one occasion did he defeat the ‘citizens’, 2-0 in the Premier as ‘blue’ coach.
Guardiola, king of ‘semis’
It is the ninth time that Pep Guardiola has reached the semifinals of the Champions League, one more than his rival on Tuesday, Carlo Ancelotti, and José Mourinho. Of the eight he completed he was eliminated in five. He won two ‘Champions’ finals. Real Madrid is the second team, after Arsenal, that he faced the most in his coaching career. A total of 19 games with a balance of 11 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses. In the most prestigious competition at club level, he won the last two precedents.
experience is a degree
If there is a team used to playing in the semi-finals of the Champions League, it is Real Madrid. It is the club that has played the most in the history of the European Cup, having overcome 16 of 30 and winning 13 finals. For Manchester City it will be the third, all compiled in seven editions. Of the two played, they overcame one, against PSG last season, before falling in the final.
Maximum equality in history
It will be the seventh time that Real Madrid and Manchester City have crossed paths in the Champions League, in a confrontation that began in 2012 and has been repeated in the last ten years. Two wins, two draws and two losses present maximum equality. The Spanish outfit eliminated their rival from the 2016 semi-finals, but City emerged victorious from the 2020 quarter-finals in both ties played.
More about Real Madrid
Alaba and Casemiro, with the group at the Etihad training
Guardiola and his record against Real Madrid
