The Week In Focus - Looking Back And Looking Forward

Looking Back  – Real Madrid 1 Manchester City 2

Let’s get straight to it – this was a big result, and perhaps the key thing for me and for fans in general is that perhaps big results like this defy analysis, they do not require forensic examination. Could City have scored more? Could they have used more of the old guard? Why Otamendi? What if they had used a more practised formation? A lot of what ifs…

We’ll never know, and we don’t need to, as City were generally superb, and won away to Real Madrid. Pre-match favourites who delivered, against Champions League royalty, who usually find a way to win, somehow. In a way, that’s all the information you need. What’s more, they came from behind, only the second team to do that in the competition at the Bernabeu, and amazingly the first to be awarded a penalty there. Times they are a changing. The players showed mental strength, and since the news of the UEFA ban, the season could easily have gone off the rails, and you’d have understood why. Instead, the team hasn’t blinked. Now they need to continue that run over the next 9 days, because there is no let-up in the season, unless a certain virus decides otherwise.

I even saw in a letter to football365.com in which some dullard, who just happened to be a fan of a rival club, claimed it wasn’t a great result as Real Madrid are on the wane, pointing out their heavy defeat to Ajax – last season. That’s akin to arguing Real Madrid should have thrashed City because we lost to an injury-ravaged Norwich 5 months ago. This narrative fuelled much of the angle that City could have won by more if Pep had not gone so left-field. It depends on the assumption that Real Madrid were simply not very good, rather than the more logical explanation that City’s formation and the performances of players made them look that way. This was the first knockout stage defeat for Zinedine Zidane, which tells you all you need to know. This is not the greatest Real Madrid side of all time, but I wouldn’t say City are at their peak at this precise moment either. Look at who Madrid had to call on for Wednesday’s match, and soon many of the arguments peter away and shine a light on the bitterness that controls that narrative.

The caveats will be there of course, they always are. As you may be aware by now, the modern Manchester City have rarely won a football game, and simply deserved to – certainly not big games in Europe. Come back from 2 goals down in Bayern Munich, the first team to do so in the competition since 1971? Pah, Bayern had already qualified and weren’t really trying. Madrid are rubbish, Roma were weak, Sevilla’s tactics were wrong, Barcelona were unlucky, PSG had key players out, you get the idea. Even QPR waved us through on that fateful day in 2012 safe in the knowledge they had stayed up, apparently.  Caveat FC or Asterisk FC? You decide.

But where is the bar for what City should achieve anyway? What is considered a par score in Europe for a team in City’s position? There is no rule book, no set criteria for what a team should do, how far they should get. And even if there was you’d have to analyse why they went out each season. If a manager saw his team cheated in the competition five years in succession, it would be a tad harsh to label him an underachiever.  Alex Ferguson won the tournament twice, and was fortunate to win it that many times. However, the fact that this was the first Champions League game that Kevin De Bruyne has scored and assisted in perhaps is the perfect example that City have never quite embraced nor mastered this competition. Now would be a perfect time. **** you UEFA.

The only danger, and perhaps dilemma, is how Pep should approach the 2nd leg, 3 weeks away. Caution, normal game, or look to strike whilst the iron is still moderately warm? Another left field formation, perhaps even the same as the 1st leg, or a return to a more traditional line up? There’s plenty for him to mull over in the meantime, and mull he will. This tie is far from over, but I couldn’t have asked for a much better situation at the half-way stage. A fit Aymeric Laporte would have helped, but at least the knowledge that his injury is related to his hamstring comforts me.

Looking Forward – The Carabao Cup Final

And so to Wembley yet again, little Citeh’s second home. Visits there are well into double figures now over the past decade, and many a blue knows their way round much of London because of that. We will have settled on our favourite watering holes, our favourite route to the ground, preferable accommodation or even service station! The journey never gets boring, except perhaps the return after a defeat. Let’s hope such experiences continue to be rare in the future.

The club and its fan base has felt under siege over the past two weeks, but on the pitch, the focus has been absolute.  For Villa, they have other battles to fight too. When not playing City they are rarely embarrassed, but they do not win enough games to project confidence in a successful relegation fight. McGinn is training, he is running, but not in time for Sunday. Heaton is out, Moraes too, and more, and a huge weight will fall on the shoulders of the excellent Jack Grealish.  And on Mings at the back no doubt.

Key to Villa too is how they cope with the Wembley experience. I imagine it can drain players of energy before they even step onto the pitch. Villa have played there twice in recent years in Play Off finals, which are surely the most high pressure games of all, so should be fine, though many of those players won’t feature this weekend.  Also key is how Dean Smith approaches the match. The sensible approach perhaps is to sit deep and narrow and congest the pitch. The denim on his shoulder may argue however that a cup final and a Wembley appearance demands an element of ambition. That may play into City’s hands, as may fatigue if as expected City dominate possession.

But enough about Villa and their giddy seat-counters.  For many thousands of blues, the journey is as important as the destination, almost. It’s a well-worn path however that path is travelled. The 8am train, the cans, some light snacks. Is eating cheating? The scarves out the window, if that’s your thing. The photos on social media, the updates. The envy from those not going. Four stops from Euston Square. Wembley Way. The long escalator ride to the cheap seats. Cheapest, anyway. The pomp and ceremony, everything that little bit grander at our national stadium, flawed as the place is. The nerves, hopefully ending with seeing your captain climb the steps, shake some hands and lift the trophy. The walk back to the tube is unbearable of your captain hasn’t.

Whatever happens, this matters. Another trophy, and Manchester City are in the business of accumulating trophies, so they all count. It will boost the team, the fans and the club for the rest of the season, and the many battles that lie ahead. Here’s hoping for another trophy, and for every blue travelling down to London this weekend, have a great time.

Up the blues!