Manchester City – Real Madrid: Arbeloa’s Side Adventure In The Champions League Continues (1-2)

At the Etihad, the Manchester City vs. Real Madrid clash was scripted similarly to the Bernabeu night. The Citizens started bossing the game; however, Los Blancos were able to expose Guardiola’s side’s off-ball frailties. Bernardo Silva’s red card was the difference between the two legs. After that event, Manchester City was able to threaten Real Madrid; however, they couldn’t bear the tax of one man down. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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Real Madrid banked on three goals against Manchester City in the first leg of the round of sixteen in the UEFA Champions League. The odds favored the Citizens, and the state of Los Blancos reinforced that belief. However, Real Madrid defied logic, and Federico Valverde unexpectedly rose to the occasion, giving his team the edge before the second leg. Before traveling to Manchester, Arbeloa’s side had edged past Elche in a game in which the Spanish manager had fielded an unprecedented number of academy players. Real Madrid’s gems displayed a great show of control, talent, and personality over the half-hour they were given, proving they can be reliable assets for the first team.

Manchester City experienced a miserable week in terms of results. After the defeat at Bernabeu, Pep Guardiola’s side dropped two points against West Ham, which saw the Citizens trailing Arsenal by nine points, with a game in hand. Pep Guardiola stated that the lineup he introduced against the Hammers didn’t suit the demands of the game. Additionally, he expressed that it was the right opportunity to criticize his choices compared to what the media voiced after the Real Madrid clash. In the build-up to the second leg of the Champions League, Guardiola attempted to motivate his players, instilling the required atmosphere to keep his men believing in a potential return.

On paper, Pep Guardiola started the game with Ruben Dias partnering Abdukodir Khusanov in the middle of the backline. Rayan Aït-Nouri acted as left back, whereas Matheus Nunes was tasked with shutting down the right side. Rodri slotted in the pivot. Tijjani Reijnders and Bernardo Silva operated as central midfielders. Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku hugged the touchlines. Erling Haaland led the attack.

Álvaro Arbeloa started the game with Dean Huijsen and Antonio Rüdiger at the heart of the defense. Alexander-Arnold operated as right back, with Fran Garcia replacing Ferland Mendy due to injury. Aurélien Tchouaméni slotted in as a defensive midfielder, with Federico Valverde and Thiago Pitarch as central midfielders. Arda Güler operated behind Brahim Díaz and Vinícius Júnior.

Doku and Cherki’s threats

The first minute saw Real Madrid and Manchester City battling for the loose ball in the middle third down the left half-space. Reijnders won the second ball; however, Arda Güler cut off Bernardo Silva’s pass to Rayan Cherki and picked out Vinicius Junior near the touchlines. In the meantime, Valverde ran diagonally from behind, attacking the gap between Ait-Nouri and Ruben Dias. The Brazilian clipped the ball over Manchester City’s backline to release Valverde in a one-on-one against Donnarumma. However, the Uruguayan handed the ball to City’s goalkeeper.

In possession, Bernardo Silva stepped back as a situational right center-back, allowing Matheus Nunes to push on. On the left side, Ait-Nouri drifted infield, whereas Doku hugged the touchlines. Two minutes in, Manchester City overloaded the right side with Haaland tying Rudiger and Alexander-Arnold at the edge of the box. As a result, Cherki spotted Doku in space on the left. The latter pushed Arnold and Valverde toward the box and cut the ball back to Cherki at the edge of the box. Real Madrid defended deep near their net. Cherki dribbled past Güler and pulled the trigger. Courtois saved the shot.

4th minute: Manchester City overloads the right side, where Reijnders distracts Tchouaméni down the right half-space. In the meantime, Rodri runs from behind between Tchouaméni and Pitarch as the third man. Reijnders flicks the ball onto the Spanish midfielder, who attacks the byline and fires a shot.

Bernardo Silva and Rayan Cherki tended to swap positions down the right half-space, whereas Nunes hugged the touchlines. That forced Arda Güler to drop and cover City’s right back. Meanwhile, Reijnders pinned Huijsen at the edge of the box. As a consequence, Cherki had the space to drive the ball forward, push Real Madrid’s backline toward their goal, and penetrate the box. With Tchouaméni and Pitarch joining Fran Garcia to triple up on Cherki and Huijsen covering the near post zone, Reijnders and Ait-Nouri found a free space around the penalty area to receive Cherki’s cutback. However, Huijsen blocked off Reijnders’ delivery.

Committing more players against Jeremy Doku might limit the Belgian winger on some occasions. However, it freed up the channels for Manchester City’s players to attack, coming late from behind. To elaborate, Ait-Nouri and Doku drew Pitarch, Valverde, Arnold, and Brahim Diaz toward the left. In the center, Haaland pinned the center-backs, whereas Cherki anchored Tchouaméni. Rodri tended to push on centrally and attracted Tchouaméni laterally. Consequently, Cherki was able to roam freely in front of the backline. Arda Güler and Fran Garcia couldn’t step up, keeping close tabs on Reijnders and Nunes. Hence, Cherki had the space and time to shoot.

No difficulties for Real Madrid in the buildup and transitions

In possession, Arbeloa tasked Pitarch and Güler with operating as situational fullbacks, with Arnold and Garcia pushing high up the pitch. On other occasions, it was either Pitarch or Güler who acted as a situational fullback, with the other partnering Tchouaméni in the pivot. Brahim Diaz tended to drop between the lines as a false nine to overload Manchester City’s midfield, whilst Vinicius Junior was ready to attack the space in behind. The visitors relied on Courtois delivering long launches, similarly to the first leg, targeting Valverde on the right side. Meanwhile, Brahim Diaz and Thiago Pitarch jumped out to win the second balls.

The visitors were positionally interchanging. In other instances, Federico Valverde drifted infield as a false nine and joined the midfield to generate numerical superiority. Against Manchester City’s 4-4-2 diamond shape in the high press, Real Madrid was capable of working the ball around to figure out inroads to progress. Not only that, but Los Blancos had the numerical advantage in the buildup line, enabling them to find the free man to work the ball out.

17th minute: Rüdiger and Huijsen split wide alongside Courtois, whereas Tchouaméni comes short. Real Madrid has a four-versus-two situation. Additionally, Huijsen has time and space, thanks to the distance Reijnders has to cover between Huijsen and Tchouaméni. The former picks out Brahim Diaz, who finds Valverde shifting across. Vinicius Junior pins Khusanov, whilst Fran Garcia’s forward run forces Bernardo Silva to drop and cover the space between the center-backs. Hence, Brahim Diaz can drive inside, drawing Nunes’ attention, and vacating the flanks for Valverde. The latter releases Vinicius in space. The Brazilian penetrates the box, cuts in, and hits the far post. Brahim Diaz collects the rebound and picks out Vinicius near the far post zone to shoot into Bernardo Silva’s hands. The referee awards the hosts a penalty kick and sends Silva off.

Manchester City was close to leveling the tie immediately after Vinicius penalty. Rudiger jumped onto Cherki, whereas Haaland pinned Huijsen. As a consequence, the Citizens expanded the gap between Arnold and Huijsen for Doku to punish the space behind the Englishman. Reijnders slid the through ball toward the byline for Doku to square to Haaland. Courtois, with a heroic save, kept the lead for Real Madrid. Tchouaméni cleared the rebound forward, with Brahim Diaz collecting the second ball and releasing Vinicius Junior in a one-on-one against Ruben Dias. The former skipped past the latter and took on Reijnders, cutting across the net. However, he blasted the ball over.

Real Madrid kept finding inroads around Manchester City’s defensive unit. The visitors took advantage of the numerical superiority in the buildup line to access the free man. Usually, Real Madrid had the wide player as the available option. On the left, Vinicius Junior tied Matheus Nunes’ hands, whereas Fran Garcia tended to embark on a sprint to exploit City’s space behind their high line. Arda Güler, as a wide, deep-lying midfielder, served the team well by prodding passes onto runners behind the hosts’ backline.

Similar to the first leg, Real Madrid exploited Manchester City’s advanced fullbacks to hurt the hosts on counters. Twenty-seven minutes in, Tchouaméni cut off Doku’s pass to Rodri. Vinicius Junior’s close position enabled him to collect the ball and feed Tchouaméni behind Rodri and Ruben Dias. Matheus Nunes couldn’t recover due to his high and wide position on the right side. Tchouaméni found Güler around Khusanov, whereas Vinicius Junior outpaced Rodri and Reijnders, getting himself into a good position to receive Güler’s square pass. Nonetheless, Vinicius Junior’s final touch prevented him from expanding the deficit.

In settled possession, Real Madrid attempted to figure out central inroads through Manchester City’s 4-4-1 low block. Real Madrid’s fullbacks stretched the width, with the rest packing inside. Dean Huijsen would entice Rodri to jump out. The latter’s step-out would leave Reijnders outnumbered by the visitors’ midfielders. Tchouaméni was free to receive Huijsen’s line-breaking pass, then he combined with another free man in, Arda Güler, between the lines. Meanwhile, Arnold roamed alone around the box; however, Tchouaméni opted for shooting from a distance.

38th minute: Pitarch drops deeper and attracts Rodri’s attention. Brahim Diaz fills up the right half-space, with Valverde pinning Ruben Dias. That results in a passing lane between Tchouaméni and Brahim Diaz, who leaves Ait-Nouri in his wake to penetrate the box. The Moroccan evades Ruben Dias and fires the ball into Donnarumma’s hands.

The tax of one man down

In the second half, Pep Guardiola brought in Marc Guehi and Nathan Aké to replace Ruben Dias and Tijjani Reijnders. Playing with one player off allowed Real Madrid to find the free space inside Manchester City’s shape and break through. Huijsen would entice Doku to jump onto Rudiger to access Thiago Pitarch in the middle of the park. As Rodri shifted across, Pitarch would find Brahim Diaz between the lines. The latter dribbled past Marc Guehi and set up Vinicius against Khusanov down the left half-space.

In the second part of the game, Manchester City’s fullbacks hugged the touchlines, with Jeremy Doku having the license to stroll in the center or operate near the flanks. The Citizens had the intention to overload the play on one side and seize the right moment to isolate the wide option on the other side of the pitch. Despite getting doubled up by Arnold and Valverde, Doku waited for the gap between the Real Madrid pair to open up and slid a lateral pass toward the space around the penalty area. Ait-Nouri and Cherki contributed to paving the road for the ball to slide to Haaland. Ait-Nouri’s run toward the byline drew Pitarch with him, whereas Cherki pulled out Tchouaméni. Hence, Haaland was able to create separation against Huijsen and shoot. Lunin was a good replacement for Courtois in saving City’s efforts.

60th minute: Manchester City leans toward the left side. Tchouaméni and Güler jump on Rodri. In the meantime, Khusanov sneaks behind Vinicius Junior to drive around Real Madrid’s midfield line. Khusanov drags Güler with him, generating a one-on-one situation for Semenyo against Garcia. The former cuts inside and curls the ball into the crowd.

In a medium block, Real Madrid exposed Manchester City’s defensive frailties. As aforementioned, Fran Garcia pushed on, allowing Arda Güler to drop as a situational left back. Before jumping onto Güler, Semenyo had to make sure that Vinicius Junior was marked. It was enough for Güler to assess his options and glide the ball behind Manchester City’s backline. Vinicius Junior capitalized on Brahim Diaz pulling out Marc Guehi to get in behind and face Donnarumma. The latter early step-up warded off Vinicius Junior from continuing forward.

67th minute: Arda Güler breaks down Manchester City’s first lines of pressure to access the space between the pinned backline and pressing unit. Brahim Diaz picks up the ball and carries it forward, whereas the hosts generate a five-versus-four situation.

Arda Güler and Brahim Diaz made way for Manuel Angel and Kylian Mbappé. The former was tasked with similar roles as the Turkish midfielder. The Citizens kept paying the tax of playing with nine outfield players. The visitors targeted this weakness by enticing the press from the midfield line. Vinicius pinned the center-backs, whereas Garcia anchored Khusanov on the left side. As a result, Mbappé could drop in between the lines, outnumbering Semenyo with Manuel Angel. So, Huijsen would pick out Angel, who curled the back inside to Mbappé. Tchouaméni drew Marmoush’s attention so his compatriot could find the free Camavinga in the middle of the park. A ball combination took place down the right half-space between Mbappé, Camavinga, and Valverde. Additionally, the latter tied Aké in the center, whilst Arnold pulled out Ait-Nouri to enable Mbappé to attack the space behind City’s left back.

Manchester City also tended to bait Real Madrid’s forward to break through. Nico Gonzalez and Marc Guehi swapped positions, with the latter darting behind Vinicius’ blindside, generating a passing lane with the Spanish midfielder. Camavinga shuffled across to stop Guehi from carrying forward. However, he left Ait-Nouri free in the middle of the park. The latter invited Arnold to step up, which widened the gap between Rudiger and Valverde for Ait-Nouri to punch the ball to Doku. Camavinga’s lateness in tracking back allowed Ait-Nouri to infiltrate the box and fire Doku’s cutback. Fortunately, Lunin saved the shot.

Takeaways

Manchester City solidly started the game, putting greater emphasis on the right side, where Rayan Cherki was the main protagonist, posing a threat from the right half-space, and Rodri, with his late arrivals. On the left side, despite the difficulties due to Real Madrid doubling up and tripling up on Doku, he was able to find routes to access the byline zone. However, Manchester City paid the price for their high-press woes and rest defense frailties, allowing Real Madrid to get in behind.

After Bernardo Silva’s red card, Real Madrid took advantage of the numerical edge, which enabled Arbeloa’s side to work the ball out with ease down the thirds. Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku dictated Manchester City’s attack. Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough to break down Real Madrid’s defensive unit. On the other side, Los Blancos attempted to punish the space behind Manchester City via Vinicius Junior’s runs. However, the Brazilian’s final touch was poor until he sneaked behind Marc Guehi to guide Tchouaméni’s cross home and drop the curtain on the clash.

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