3 Reasons Real Madrid Beat Man City 3-1 In UCL: Manchester City was thrashed 3-1 in the second leg of the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25. This resulted in the Cityzens getting eliminated from the competition with an aggregate line-up of 6-3.
This is the first time that a side managed by Pep Guardiola-managed side has been eliminated from the UCL before the round of 16. This is also the most times his team has lost in a season, 12. So today, we will look at what went wrong for Manchester City in their 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid.
3 Reasons Real Madrid Beat Man City 3-1 In UCL
3) Empty Possession
For a team that lost 3-1, Man City had a lot of possession in this game, 52%. Despite having slightly more possession than their rivals, the English side did not do too much with all the time they had the ball at their feet.
City took 12 shots throughout the match, only four of which were on target. Not only were they half of Madrid’s eight on target during the game, but the Sky Blues’s shots on target were not as effective, as none of them felt like they could pierce the defences of keeper Thibaut Courtois.
Not only that, but many of the defending Premier League champions’ shots came after they were already 3-0 down in the game, with their only goal coming in the injury time of the second half, assisted by a fantastic free kick by Omar Marmoush. With all that being said, Manchester City had a lot of possession in this match but was not able to convert them into genuine chances.
2) Shoddy Defending
We discussed earlier that this has been the worst season in Pep Guardiola’s managerial career in terms of the number of defeats suffered. So, what makes this season such a terrible outlier? It is the shoddy defence on display by Man City throughout the 2024-25 season across all competitions.
While never known for their defensive prowess over their attacking strength, Guardiola’s teams have always had competent defence when compared against the best teams across Europe. That is not the case this season, seeing how they have conceded 25 goals in the Premier League, the most for any team in the top 8, and 14 in the eight UEFA Champions League 2024-25 league games.
That defensive nightmare continued in this second-leg match against Real Madrid. Regular centre-back Ruben Dias and left-back Josko Gvardiol continued their terrible form, and both were dominated by the lightning-quick Real attack. John Stones was injured and substituted early in the first half, and Uzbek defender Abdukodir Khusanov was shifted to right-back and was cooked throughout the match by Vinicius Jr.
1) Kylian Mbappe Catching Fire
While it was Manchester City’s failure for the most part that was responsible for their loss, their defeat could also be blamed on other factors, for example, a superstar like Kylian Mbappe catching fire and scoring.
It has only been in the new year that the French superstar has looked like he is adjusting to his new role as a pure striker at Real Madrid. In late January, he scored his first hat trick for Los Blancos. And now, he scored his first for his new club in the UCL.
The 26-year-old was clinical in front of the net in the second leg of the first qualifying round against Madrid, scoring three fine goals to give his side an unassailable lead in the match and the tie. It looked like Manchester City’s tired defence was no match for Mbappe’s pace and precision.
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