Both teams defended with skill and intelligence
City’s work was a lot more visible than that of Madrid’s due to the way they pressed and squeezed in the middle of the park, but Los Merengues did their fair share of defending, too.
After all, only Everton, Dynamo Kyiv and Manchester United had managed to keep Manuel Pellegrini’s team from scoring at the City of Manchester stadium this season before Madrid joined the list, so the visitors deserve some credit for the way they forced the hosts into firing a blank. Before the match, many had pin-pointed the rearguard as Madrid’s main weakness, but it didn’t turn out that way.
DW Sports summed up Pepe’s solid performance with this straight-talking tweet:
Alongside his fellow centre-half Ramos, he worked tirelessly to keep out whatever threats came their way. His unending work ethic was capped off wonderfully by his excellently-timed late interception to deny Raheem Sterling a clear goal-scoring opportunity to steal the lead.
The industrious philosophy spread right throughout the team like wild-fire and Carvajal got in on the act a few times, never any less importantly than when he carried out a tactical foul on Kevin De Bruyne in the 91st minute. On the whole, it wasn’t the most polished of defensive displays, but it worked and that’s all the fans will care about for now.
However, it was arguably the home side whose efforts were more noticeable. Much like for their opponents, City’s back-line has often been touted as their Achilles’ heel (even Gary Lineker voiced his concerns about their ability before the match), but they stood up to the challenge really well. Vincent Kompany was in fine form as he rallied his troops and the whole team worked incredibly well as a unit in shielding Joe Hart’s goal.
Often, the entire XI got behind the ball to repel Madrid’s attacks, and it proved an impenetrable barrier throughout.
The presence of both Fernando and Fernandinho in the middle of the park really aided their defensive efforts because they were so incessant in their challenges, impressive back-tracking and willingness to run; it was a masterclass in how to play unselfishly, and it really impacted on their team’s game-plan.
