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Real Madrid and manager Zinedine Zidane find themselves in a difficult situation heading into the 2nd leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Manchester City.
Los Blancos are undoubtedly the greatest team to have ever graced Europe's most prestigious club competition, but their 2-1 loss in the 1st leg at the Santiago Bernabeu has pushed them to the brink of elimination.
After Isco gave the LaLiga champions the lead in the 60th minute, Kevin De Bruyne took centre stage as Madrid collapsed. Gabriel Jesus shrugged off Sergio Ramos to head past Thibaut Courtois in the Real Madrid goal, before Dani Carvajal brought down Raheem Sterling in the box with De Bruyne dispatching the ensuing penalty.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when their captain Ramos was given a straight red for bringing down Jesus, who was bearing down on goal.
With a 1-goal deficit and 2 City away goals to overcome at the Etihad Stadium, Real Madrid and Zidane have their task cut out for them.
It would be foolish to count them out, though, and here are 5 reasons why they could pull off a comeback against Manchester City.
#5 Real Madrid's defense has been rock solid this season
Although Sergio Ramos will miss this game due to suspension, the defense is more than capable of stepping up to the plate in his absence.
Raphael Varane has been as assured as ever this season and will welcome his new role as the leader of the back-line. New signing Eder Militao has excelled whenever he has gotten chances, with his recent performances in particular very encouraging. Both centre-backs are fast and strong - qualities that will be vital against pacy wingers like Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling.
Right-back Dani Carvajal has perhaps been Real Madrid's most underrated player this campaign, while Ferland Mendy (expected to start ahead of Marcelo) has been resolute in defense and since the restart, potent in attack.
Thibaut Courtois won the Zamora Trophy (for most clean sheets) in LaLiga, and Casemiro has been an absolute rock in front of the defense.
In a game where the first goal could completely shift the momentum, Real Madrid's airtight back-line could pave the way for the attackers to mount some serious pressure on the weak Manchester City defense. Speaking of which.....
#4 City's defensive issues could play into Real Madrid's hands
Manchester City did manage to keep two clean sheets in their final two Premier League games, but they've been plagued by defensive issues throughout this season.
Their best centre-back in Aymeric Laporte suffered a long-term injury that put him out of a major part of the campaign, while John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi have been far from solid. Fernandinho and Eric Garcia have played at the position, but irrespective of who partners Laporte, the pace of the Real Madrid forwards will trouble them.
Perhaps more concerning is the full-back problems that the Cityzens have faced. While Benjamin Mendy is suspended for this game, Oleksandr Zinchenko's inexperience could mean that he is not trusted for this high-profile match-up.
Joao Cancelo has performed decently whenever he has slotted in at left-back, but the Portuguese hasn't exactly settled into life at Manchester. Kyle Walker is a shadow of the player he was when he signed from Tottenham, and manager Pep Guardiola's expensive full-back rebuild has hardly gone to plan.
Against a Real Madrid team which thrives on attacking from the wings, Manchester City could be woefully exposed. With their wingers also not offering much defensively, Eden Hazard, Rodrygo, and Vinicius Junior could run riot at the Etihad.
The stats back up these claims - in 5 Champions League home games under Guardiola, City have conceded 10 goals.
Also check out: the Champions League Winners by season
#3 Guardiola's disappointing UCL record doesn't bode well for the Cityzens
Pep Guardiola is one of the brightest minds in football but the Catalan has shown a tendency to overthink things on the biggest stage - the Champions League.
In his first season in charge of the Manchester City, Guardiola oversaw a heartbreaking loss to a youthful Monaco side consisting of Kylian Mbappe. Despite winning the first leg 5-3, City collapsed 3-1 at Monaco to exit the competition on away goals in embarrassing fashion.
In the next season, the former Barcelona manager had the misfortune of encountering a confident Liverpool side that steamrolled their Premier League rivals. This is, of course, apart from the Tottenham Hotspur outfit that clawed their way back last year to overcome City and reach the final.
This pattern of Guardiola might cost his side dearly against Real Madrid, who are the undisputed kings of the Champions League. When he was the Bayern Munich boss as well, Los Blancos ran out 4-0 winners in the 2nd leg, with a certain Portuguese forward doing the honours on that occasion.
The Manchester City boss is undoubtedly one of the best managers in the world, but his sub-par record in the Champions League is in stark contrast to that of Real Madrid gaffer Zidane's......
#2 Zinedine Zidane's UCL magic could make its presence felt once again
When Zinedine Zidane took over from Rafael Benitez as the Real Madrid manager, few people could have expected the European reign that was to follow.
After winning the Champions League in each of his first three seasons, the Frenchman left the club due to suspected differences with President Florentino Perez. The departure of the record goal-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo added insult to injury, and an understandably poor season led to Perez convincing Zidane to return to the Spanish capital.
Zidane has already won the LaLiga title this season, but where he truly excels is in two-legged Champions League ties. Under his tenure, Real Madrid have beaten Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid in the tournament's knock-out stages.
Against Manchester City, the wealth of experience that he and his players possess will be invaluable. In short, Zinedine Zidane knows how to get things done in the Champions League, especially against quality opposition.
#1 Form is on Real Madrid's side
Since the LaLiga restart, Real Madrid have been on a tear, and dropped only two points (in the final gameweek of the campaign) en route to their 34th league title. In the process, they chalked up 10 consecutive wins in the Spanish top-flight, keeping 6 clean sheets and scoring 21 goals.
Almost all of their players (barring the injury-hit Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic) have been fit and firing on all cylinders. The form of striker Karim Benzema, in particular, has been incredible since the restart. With Luka Modric and Marco Asensio rejuvenated as well, Real Madrid are simply in a great position to overturn the deficit.
Manchester City, on the other hand, suffered an embarrassing 2-0 loss to Arsenal (who finished 8th in the Premier League) in the semi-final of the FA Cup. The Sky Blues also fell to Southampton and Chelsea after the resumption of the league.
Moreover, LaLiga finished around a week before the Premier League, giving the Spanish team some valuable time for rest, recovery and training. Guardiola also recently confirmed that City's leading goal-scorer, Sergio Aguero, will be unavailable for this tie due to injury.
Form is on Real Madrid's side, and they could pull off a heist at the Etihad on the 7th of August.
