It was always a tough ask for Real Madrid and Manchester City to follow up on the exciting Bayern-Atletico semifinal, but the lack of quality at Bernabeu was appalling.
A Gareth Bale shot deflected by Fernando was enough for the home side to win the game 1-0 and meet their fierce rivals Atletico Madrid in Champions League final for second time in three seasons.
As for City, it was a horrible way to end their successful European campaign, which saw the team qualify for their first ever Champions League semifinal. On the wake of a dull night at Bernabeu, we take a look at the key talking points and things we learned from Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Manchester City.
The obvious lack of quality
With players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne on show, there was a surprising lack of quality in the game. City failed to register a single shot on goal and as for Madrid, they promised a lot but Joe Hart was hardly troubled apart from Bale’s deflected goal.
End of Toure and Kompany for Man City?
Vincent Kompany is becoming a liability for Manchester City after the skipper was once again forced to leave the field with a hamstring injury. Number of games he has missed in recent seasons is far too much for anyone’s liking at Etihad.
With Pep Guardiola arriving in the summer, he will surely get rid of any dead wood at the club, which also includes Yaya Toure. The Big Ivorian had one of his worse nights for City and it was clearly evident that he is no longer motivated to do well for City.
Zidane is not afraid to make big calls
Zinedine Zidane was a fearless leader for France and we can see that in his brief stint with Real Madrid where he is not afraid to make big calls. He started with Isco and benched Karim Benzema against Manchester City.
He has certainly transformed Real Madrid under his management. While players like James Rodriguez may not agree with Zidane, but he is certainly taking Los Blancos in right direction.
City’s top-4 finish will not be easy
Manchester City may have been knocked out of Champions League last night but they still have a lot to play for in the remaining 3 matches of the season. City need to win all their matches to ensure Manchester United do not nip them for the final Champions League spot for next season.
United are 4 points behind their city rivals but have a game in hand as well. And given the injuries to Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Yaya Toure’s bad form, United hold the edge in this season’s top-4 race in Premier League.
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