Home   >   MOTDs   >   MOTD: Manchester City 0-0 Real Madrid

MOTD: Manchester City 0-0 Real Madrid

By on April 26, 2016

The stage is set for Cristiano Ronaldo to take Real Madrid to the Champions League final after the Galacticos etched out a scoreless draw against Manchester City.  The Portuguese forward’s absence hung over the proceedings and despite assembling two of the most expansive attacking forces in world football, neither side could muster up an attacking menace.

For now, the semifinal tie remains tantalizingly poised until the two sides meet again at the Bernabeu next week.  A single away goal from City could have the potential to flip the tie on its head, although it would require quite the turnaround.  At home, considering Ronaldo’s absence, this was a massive opportunity for City to make a statement and if they were just a little dazzled by the royal white light tonight, a visit to Madrid is a much more daunting task.

Manuel Pellegrini could take comfort in keeping a clean sheet, although the home side could have been much worse off if not for two crucial stops from Joe Hart.  Jese headed against the bar in the final twenty-minutes and Hart brilliantly denied Casemiro and Pepe from set-pieces.

Nevertheless, the Chilean manager will be disappointed that City offered so little going forward and the first shot of the game, Nicolas Otamendi’s harmless header, came after 27 minutes, later than any other Champions League game this season.  It was just the fourth Champions League contest this season without a single shot on target in the first half and it took City the best part of ninety-three minutes to trouble Keylor Navas, from Kevin de Bruyne’s stoppage time free-kick.

Sergio Aguero picked an unfortunate night to disappear and he has gone 432 minutes without having a single shot on target in the Champions League.  Raheem Sterling, David Silva and de Bruyne could hardly come close to breaking down a resolute Madrid back-line protected by the formidable Casemiro in the middle.

De Bruyne had the lowest passing completion rate of any outfield player and just when City needed inspiration, their main men were blunted by Madrid’s rock-solid back-line.

Defender Vincent Kompany admitted, per City’s official website:  “0-0 is a dangerous score.”

He added, though, that the Sky Blues are optimistic.  “If we manage to score in Madrid it will be a very different game.

“It’s hard to keep a clean sheet against such a good attacking side. Overall, we can proud of what we have achieved in the first leg of this tie. We couldn’t have wished for more at this stage. There are 90 minutes with it all to play for next week.”

Said his opposite, Pepe: “In the first half we were weighing each other up, but in the second half we were the stronger side. We knew that we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. They started strongly, but we dealt with their counter-attacks and we had quite a lot of possession. In the second half, the flow of the game changed, we were the ones calling the shots and constantly going in search of the goal, which unfortunately we didn’t manage to get”.

“Manchester City are a good team but we’re playing at the Bernabéu and we believe we can win the tie. It doesn’t matter who the favourite is. The winner will be in the final. Everyone knows we’re good at home, we showed that in the quarters and we hope to do so again on Wednesday”.

In a competition where home advantage is so highly regarded, the draw gives Madrid an edge heading into the second leg and, per Hart, it will be a “good old fashioned rumble”.

Homepage photo credit: Ruben Ortega (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.