Difficult problem in attack for Man City
To overcome Real Madrid, Man City must score. But who will do it? It is strange that a team with so much attacking talent now has no truly reliable name, including Aguero.
From the disappointment of the first leg
The 0-0 first leg result was a missed opportunity for City. They now face a lot of risk at the Bernabeu and to mitigate it, they must get past Navas, which is not easy given what happened a week ago at the Etihad.
It was a game in which City played the much-criticised 4-4-2 last year and, as Pellegrini admitted, failed to create a clear-cut chance. The City players were largely inoffensive throughout the game and had to wait until the 92nd minute, thanks to a De Bruyne free-kick, to get a shot on target (which did not trouble Navas at all). They also only managed one shot from inside the box, their fewest in a game since 2011.
Despite some praise for their defensive skills, Man City had serious problems with their attacking ideas. Their players made 4 dangerous passes in the whole match, too few to break down Real Madrid's defense.
The concern is that David Silva set up two of them but the Spaniard will not be available at the Bernabeu due to a hamstring injury. De Bruyne is known as one of the best attacking midfielders but he did not cause enough trouble for the opposition. In the return leg, Zidane will of course have a more detailed plan to “kill” him.
El Kun and the haunting of the great battle
As usual, all eyes were on Sergio Aguero. The Argentine striker was lackluster in the first leg and was stuck in the clutches of Pepe and Real's defenders, but despite that, he is still Man City's only hope. So far this season, El Kun has "fired" 28 times, 7 of which have come in the last 8 matches.
But, a worrying fact is that Aguero has not really played well in big matches this season. In the Premier League, he only "fired" once against Leicester and was completely silent when facing Tottenham, Arsenal and MU, the teams in the Top 5. In the Champion League, besides 2 goals against M'gladbach and Dynamo Kiev, he lost himself against Juventus, PSG and the first leg of the semi-final against Real.
Tonight will be the first time in 1,324 days since Aguero visited the Bernabeu in 2012. That match, Man City lost 2-3 and the Argentine striker watched his team's defeat from the bench. Will things go better today, with Aguero coming on and scoring, beating Real for the first time in his life (after 12 attempts and failures)?
If it happens, it means the 27-year-old striker has played an extraordinary game, pushing himself beyond his limits, overcoming pressure and shining when his team needed him most. To help Man City reach the final, Aguero would have been happy to trade 28 goals for just one on the big night at the Bernabeu.
According to Bongdaplus
