This time I was EXTREMELY fortunate to go to the Real Madrid vs Manchester City fixture in match week 6 in the Champions League.
This was a big game for Xabi Alonso as previously mentioned that his side lost at home to Celta Vigo the weekend before and the pressure was building on him. The result this game from a first glance looked like it would be a potential sacking offence but I think it bought him some time.
The defensive line for Real Madrid was ransacked by injuries only having 2 fit centre backs available. The biggest miss was Kylian Mbappé which was a shame because of the rekindled rivalry he has with Erling Haaland. However, he never featured in the game.
Although Real Madrid lost this game, I think that the performance given especially with the injury crisis was enough for Xabi Alonso to stay in the manager’s office for a bit longer. Two players in particular I want to mention. Mbappé’s replacement, Gonzalo García played a really good game. Given that it was his first Champions League start and that he had to replace arguably the best player in the world up top, he did a great job. He occupied defenders well and made himself a nuisance for the City defenders. The other player was Rodrygo. It seems that anytime he plays City he goes into flow state and it showed with his great goal he scored in the game. He was a constant threat and looked to play with much more confidence.
One thing that bothered me was the fans in certain moments. Especially, the treatment of Vinicius Jr. Granted he did not have the best game, some of the decisions and weight of passing was not good. However, when the made those mistakes the fans would groan (understandable) but would continue to boo him after the action. This is something that I was shocked as in the past 3/4 years he has been one of if not the most important piece of Real Madrid’s success in recent years (especially with 2 CL final goals!!) and almost winning the Balon D’or in 2024.
Nonetheless, this was a great experience seeing two of the best European teams in recent memory battle it out in an entertaining game. My POTM will go to Rodrygo as it seems that he has regained some confidence and the goal was really well taken. However, if I had to pick a non Real Madrid player it would go to Jeremy Doku who was a problem the whole game with his elite dribbling causing nightmares for Valverde.
