This was a match played on an extremely high level and probably one of the best games of the entire 2019/20 campaign. At the Etihad Stadium, two teams fought for a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final as the clash ended up in a 2-1 victory for Manchester City (4-2 on aggregate).
It is hard to use words and our dogmatic tactical terms to dissect this game as the tactics of Pep Guardiola were quite extraordinary. By contrast, Real Madrid were unable to solve some deep-rooted issues that haunted them throughout this campaign, hence, they lost the game.
Lineups
Manchester City sent out their best team on the pitch with Fernandinho starting as Aymeric Laportes partner. Meanwhile, Phil Foden played at the centre and, maybe surprisingly, took Riyad Mahrez’s position as well. It was a 4-3-3 formation, but only on paper.
Zinédine Zidane played his team in a 4-3-3 formation as well. This was a very aggressive team as the midfield was formed by Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modrić, without Federico Valverde. Eden Hazard returned to the squad with Rodrygo starting on the right flank. Raphaël Varane and Éder Militão partnered up for the centre-back positions with Sergio Ramos unavailable.
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