Manchester City Treble dreams left in tatters by Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid’
- Manchester City’s hopes for a treble are shattered by Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid, marking a significant setback in their season’s ambitions on the football pitch.
The legendary Champions League survivors destroyed Manchester City’s hopes of winning a treble, and Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti walked away from the scene of carnage with a casual demeanor.
As the only player to win this competition four times, Ancelotti has seen it all in football, including plenty of success. However, the way in which this quarterfinal triumph was secured may have raised more eyebrows than normal.
The tie finished 4-4 on aggregate, 1-1 on this particular night, but Real triumphed 4-3 on penalties. City will be scratching their heads for a long time about how they lost a game that they dominated virtually entirely.
City has already experienced sorrow in the Champions League, and the manner in which this exciting, fast-paced game was lost will undoubtedly leave scars.
Manager Pep Guardiola’s first priority is to ensure that the tiredness and sadness that have been left behind do not affect the team’s current pursuit of a domestic double in the FA Cup and Premier League, which includes a semi-final matchup against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.
Guardiola said that Haaland and De Bruyne ‘could not continue’
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The great Italian statesman Ancelotti consoled Guardiola at the end of the match, creating the false appearance that this was simply another routine workday rather than a tense, tumultuous exchange.
As Antonio Rudiger’s penalty put City in the semi-finals against Bayern Munich, the players at City fell silent in anguish, and in the distant part of Etihad Stadium, it appeared as though scores of Real players and officials were making their way to their supporters.
In the previous season, City defeated Real 4-0 in this location during the second leg of the semi-final; Ancelotti’s team managed to win at the Bernabeu at the same stage of the previous campaign after somehow overcoming the deficit with two goals in stoppage time.
Although City had 33 shots to the visiting team’s eight this time, they lost to Real Madrid after they had 16 shots to their seven last term.
As usual at this stage, the difference was in the little things, and City’s lack of creativity prevented them from winning the match on the balance of play.
Ederson’s save of Luka Modric’s penalty kick gave them the early advantage, but only Bernardo Silva will know what went through his mind when he idly lofted a dreadful spot-kick right into the palms of goalie Andriy Lunin.
Mateo Kovacic’s penalty, which was again saved by the outstanding Lunin, further cemented Real Madrid’s fate—if you give them an inch, they take a mile.
The Champions League law says you will almost certainly pay the price if you don’t destroy Real when you get the chance. And City has now disregarded that adage twice.
Criticizing the Premier League champions’ performance would be unfair given how brilliant they were for a significant portion of the game, holding Real Madrid at bay with a persistent attack in the second half that was eventually rewarded by Kevin De Bruyne’s equalizer in the 76th minute to offset Rodrygo’s opening goal.
Before the final whistle and penalties brought much-needed respite, Real were, at times, brought to a complete stop.
Guardiola, who complimented his players for their efforts but acknowledged he must wait to see what condition they are in after a taxing evening on all fronts, will be frustrated by this as well as by City.
The manner of their elimination and the loss of the enormous trophy they won for the first time against Inter Milan in Istanbul last season will be difficult for City’s players to accept, despite their past endurance and fortitude.
Guardiola said that De Bruyne and Erling Haaland told him they could not go on, and that the striker was replaced by Julian Alvarez at the end of the ninety-minute mark. The Belgian was then taken off during extra time. It will have taken a significant psychological and physical toll.
Haaland had another difficult evening as Real Madrid’s resilient defense held him at bay aside from his early header that struck the crossbar. The Norwegian is putting up a lot of work, but he is currently not receiving the opportunities he is used to.
All of this stood in stark contrast to Jude Bellingham, the golden boy of England, who had another historic night in his nascent career.
The 20-year-old, who has been playing at a high level for Spain this season, had a tough night as City pinned them back and exhausted them, especially in the second half.
In the midst of this strain, Bellingham twice showed why, despite never being given the chance to perform to his full potential, he is marked down for greatness.
In the build-up to Rodrygo’s goal, Bellingham showed off incredible skill to pull a pass out of the sky. Then, as the City supporters erupted in laughter, he walked forward to coolly slot in Real’s second penalty following Modric’s miss.
Following Silva’s implosion under duress, it turned the tide of the shootout back in Real’s favor.
Real continue as they usually do, and not many would wager on them winning the Champions League and European Cup for the fifteenth time, giving Ancelotti his fifth title.
For City, this will be extremely painful, but they have to recover quickly. There is still a lot to be gained.
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