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Manchester City won a precious draw away from Real Madrid. The opportunity to win the UCL, which had been canceled every time since the appointment of Pep Guardiola, came close once again.
Manchester City drew 1-1 with Real Madrid in the first leg of the semifinals of the 2022-23 season European Football Association (UEFA) Champions League (UCL) held at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain at 4:00 am (Korean time) on the 10th. With this, Man City faced an advantageous situation to cover the final through the second leg at home.
Man City have passed the biggest hurdle. Recently, they ran an undefeated streak of 20 matches in all competitions, but this time they met a difficult opponent. Real Madrid is the strongest team in the competition, winning its 14th title after beating Manchester City 6-5 in the UCL semifinals last year. There were many views on Manchester City’s superiority in terms of objective power, but last year’s champion Real’s potential was also formidable, so it was not easy to predict a win or loss.
As expected, it was a tough match. Manchester City took the lead early in the match. In the 16th minute of the first half, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Elling Haaland took aim at the goal twice. It was an away game, but it recorded a whopping 68% possession in the first half and attempted 6 shots. However, Vinicius’ shot, allowed only once, was dragged through the net.
In the second half, Real’s offensive intensified. Real put 12 shots in the second half and put strong pressure on Man City. It was De Bruyne and Ederson who saved Manchester City from crisis. The Brawiner balanced the game in the 22nd minute of the second half by connecting Gundoan’s pass with a right-footed mid-range shot. Ederson kept the draw at the end of the second half by blocking Benzema and Chuameni’s decisive shots on target.
As a result, Man City took advantage of the silly ahead of the second leg home game. Manchester City advanced to the next round with a scoreless win at home after drawing 1-1 on the road against RB Leipzig in the round of 16 and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals earlier. This time, we achieved the desired result by winning a valuable draw in the Bernabeu expedition. Moreover, at home, I have a good memory of beating Real Madrid 4-3 last year.
Once again, the opportunity to break the UCL jinx of ‘Pepcity’ has arrived. Man City has consistently challenged the top of the UCL since Guardiola took office in 2016, but suffered from bad luck as it sat down on the threshold of winning every year. In particular, the last two seasons, which were considered the right time to win, ended with runner-up and semi-finals, respectively, leaving regret. This season, as the 3-2-4-1 formation has balanced offense and defense, I am determined to achieve a different result this time. 스포츠토토
Holland’s scoring cannon is considered a variable to escape the jinx. Man City is an important team for the performance of the ‘monster striker’ who scored 51 goals in official matches this season. However, Haaland struggled in the first leg, being blocked by Real’s defensive focus. In addition, the appearance of Nathan Ake, who missed the first game due to an injury, is also considered a factor that will influence the performance. It is expected that the two players’ appearance and performance will determine the success or failure of the second game in ‘Pep City’, which is highly dependent on the starting player.