“I don’t know why but I smelled that the team was ready to play at this level like they did today,” said Guardiola. Even the perfectionist on the sidelines shouldn’t have found anything to complain about in the first half of his team. City also took revenge for the bitter semi-final against Real a year ago. “The defeat last season was so painful,” Guardiola recalled. “People talk about the lack of character in these players, but we showed in one year what a special group of players they are.”
The English press, which was full of praise, also sees it that way. “The next step to finality, to immortality,” wrote the Guardian. The Daily Telegraph called it “Pep’s master class”. “What a wonderful evening,” wrote City captain Ilkay Gündogan on social networks. “So proud of this team,” continued the German international.
“Not many can do that against Real”
Real only had goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to thank for the fact that the performance did not already become a humiliation, when he made two great saves against Erling Haaland, among other things. Even the Belgian could not prevent Bernardo Silva’s decisive brace (23′, 37′) in the first round. “I don’t think many teams can do that against Real Madrid,” said Manchester’s Jack Grealish, “but when we’re all together and especially playing here (in our own stadium, ed.), we feel unstoppable.”
Guardiola dismissed the Grealish statement when asked. “Any team can be stopped. It’s nice that the players feel that way, but things can happen quickly in football. We have to stay calm.”
Dream of triple lives
Guardiola won the Champions League twice with FC Barcelona and is now in the final for the second time with Manchester City. He has been coaching the club since 2016. The coronation on the highest European stage has so far not materialised. For the British tabloid “The Sun”, the appearance in the football frenzy against Real was more than just a semi-final victory for Guardiola’s City. “It was the night a seven-year reign reached its climax, when perfection flared and the dream of a treble became a possibility.”
In the Premier League table, defending champions Manchester City are ahead, in the FA Cup there is a city duel in the final against United. “We’re close. What we have achieved so far is already very, very good,” said Guardiola. He emphasized that you also have to celebrate if you reach the final of the Champions League. “Unfortunately we don’t have time because we can win the Premier League on Sunday.” But he wanted to give his players a day off.
The Champions League trophy is the only title that club owner Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan from Abu Dhabi has not won since joining the club in 2008. There was a bitter 1-0 final defeat against Chelsea two years ago.
City too strong for Real
Meanwhile, Real has to deal with the humiliation. A hard smack, “definitely,” said Real’s German midfield star Toni Kroos, who was unlucky with a shot into the crossbar before the break, which is well worth seeing. The 0:4 in the second leg hurt, powerless is the wrong word, he said, looking at the performance in the first half.
Nothing went against the unleashed and determined hosts. “It’s not that logically we didn’t want to,” emphasized Kroos. They just couldn’t. Manchester City was too strong. The city players were difficult to grasp, explained Kroos. “We were often a meter or two apart.” Coach Carlo Ancelotti also had to concede: “City played better and deserved to win. They really pressured us early in the game and that made it difficult for us to raise our game. It’s a painful defeat. But something like that can happen in football.”
UEFA Champions League, semi-final second leg
Wednesday:
Manchester City – Real Madrid 4:0 (2:0)
Etihad Stadium, 52.300 Zuschauer, SR Marciniak (POL)
Torfolge:
1:0 B. Silva (23.)
2:0 B. Silva (37.)
3:0 Akanji (76.)
4:0 Alvarez (90.+1)
Manchester City: Ederson – Walker, R. Dias, Akanji – Stones, Rodri – B. Silva, De Bruyne (84./Foot), Gündogan (79./Mahrez), Grealish – Haaland (89./Alvarez)
Real Madrid: Courtois – Carvajal (79./Vazquez), Eder Militao, Alaba, Camavinga (79./Tchouameni) – Valverde, Modric (63./Rüdiger), Kroos (70./Asensio) – Rodrygo (79./Ceballos), Benzema , Vinicius Junior
Yellow cards: R. Dias, Gündogan, Grealish or Carvajal, Camavinga
The best: Silva, Gündogan, De Bruyne and Courtois
First leg 1-1 – Man City with a total score of 5-1 in the final
