The Cityzens, defending champions, travel to Madrid on Tuesday to face Carlo Ancelotti’s men, who, like every year, are among the most serious contenders for the C1 title.
:quality(50)/2024/03/22/logosport1-65fdc209c3726464026706.png)
Published
Update
Reading time: 1 min
:quality(50)/2024/04/09/066-dppi-40424011-020-66159168a31c4481653094.jpg)
The final before its time? Manchester City travels to Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Tuesday April 9 (9:00 p.m.) in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League. The judgment is perhaps hasty, because the contenders are still numerous, but it is clear that, like last year in the semi-finals, the two announced favorites of the Champions League face each other somewhat prematurely.
An opinion shared by the players themselves: “It’s an opponent that, to be honest, we didn’t want to faceconfided Real Madrid winger Rodrygo to Guardian. And they think the same thing: they didn’t want to play against us. Everyone expected this match to be the final, but we meet now.” Last year, Carlo Ancelotti’s protégés conceded a draw at home (1-1) before being ruled by Cityzens in the return match (4-0).
A success in the first leg could put the Merengues on the right track, unless the scenario of the semi-final of the 2021-2022 edition repeats itself, when they lost 3-4 in the first leg before to overthrow Pep Guardiola’s men 3-1 in the return and lift a fourteenth trophy in C1. The past two years, this double confrontation resulted in the final winner of the Champions League.
