FennecFox7 wrote:He has scored against big teams however. And he completely ruined man city last time we played them

What the 3-2 or 1-1 game?

The Demon of Carthage wrote:

zigra wrote:Seriously now people some of the posts here

I know it can be funny to hate Real Madrid but City ffs? Ronaldo won't let the chance of such an easy semi final ucl hattrick slip, the tie is over before it started tbh.

And I guess, and I'm only guessing here, you're one of those who thought that Real Madrid would put 6 goals past Roma and 5 past Wolfsburg. And I'm also guessing that you're one of those who thought Real Madrid would beat Juventus last year and Dortmund in 2013.

I guess you guess a bit too much.
I didn't say the will destroy them, I said they will win the tie. And yes I actually would have said the same about Wolfsburg and Roma (not sure why you brought Dortmund up lmao, none of the mentioned teams were or are in the same class).

FennecFox7 wrote:He has scored against big teams however. And he completely ruined man city last time we played them

Which is exactly why he can't let the chance of such a high profile hattrick against actual scrubs slip.

Anyways Kompany will be back, Sterling will be back ,we'll have a squad with no injuries, we can use Nasri for the league fixtures and rest Silva with his knackered ankle, we'll see what happens....

zigra wrote:

Which is exactly why he can't let the chance of such a high profile hattrick against actual scrubs slip.

His current record against City is 5 goals in 13 Appearances.

Scary

I think it would be the better tie of the two rounds. Both teams need this final to salvage what was a totally forgettable season for either club.

Madrid are the favourites but that does not mean much. I expect City to give it their all and if they do happen to win, it's because Ramos did some retarded shit that really was not necessary they deserved it.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:

zigra wrote:Seriously now people some of the posts here

I know it can be funny to hate Real Madrid but City ffs? Ronaldo won't let the chance of such an easy semi final ucl hattrick slip, the tie is over before it started tbh.

And I guess, and I'm only guessing here, you're one of those who thought that Real Madrid would put 6 goals past Roma and 5 past Wolfsburg. And I'm also guessing that you're one of those who thought Real Madrid would beat Juventus last year and Dortmund in 2013.

Honestly DoC, i think you are likely the most negative Madridistra out there.

chemicalboy99 wrote:

FennecFox7 wrote:He has scored against big teams however. And he completely ruined man city last time we played them

What the 3-2 or 1-1 game?

The game where he scored the goal in stoppage time. Absolutely complete performance from him, even if he hadn't scored he was probably motm that game imo.

Hart>Navas

oh dear

futbol_bill wrote:

The Demon of Carthage wrote:

zigra wrote:Seriously now people some of the posts here

I know it can be funny to hate Real Madrid but City ffs? Ronaldo won't let the chance of such an easy semi final ucl hattrick slip, the tie is over before it started tbh.

And I guess, and I'm only guessing here, you're one of those who thought that Real Madrid would put 6 goals past Roma and 5 past Wolfsburg. And I'm also guessing that you're one of those who thought Real Madrid would beat Juventus last year and Dortmund in 2013.

Honestly DoC, i think you are likely the most negative Madridistra out there.

I respect your opinion, but I beg to differ. There's a difference between being negative and realistic. A realist would look at the situation and weighs its pros and cons while taking into account their own strengths and weaknesses, especially weaknesses and then come to a rational conclusion. Whereas a negative person would just be content of giving up without even trying. A biased person, however, tends to be delusional and overconfident, all while making up excuses every time their team suffers a defeat. They don't acknowledge their problems and they would do anything to divert the attention and blame from their favorite players or managers.

BORUSSIA!! wrote:It's not about Madrid underestimating City. City clearly have the better team player for player and have a better manager who is also seeking vengeance against his old club.

Hart > Navas
Zabeleta > Carvajal
Ottamendi > Ramos
Kompany > Pepe
Sagna < Marcelo
Fernandinho > Casemiro
Toure = Kroos
Silva = Modric
De Bruyne > Bale
Aguero > Benzema
Sterling < Ronaldo

I really don't see how City don't win this comfortably by at least 2 goals.

didn't you say the same thing about Liverpool and Dortmund and what happened there.

Hart > Navas
Zabeleta > Carvajal
De Bruyne > Bale
Aguero > Benzema

Wow. This is so stupid my eyes hurt

[quote="BORUSSIA!!"]It's not about Madrid underestimating City. City clearly have the better team player for player and have a better manager who is also seeking vengeance against his old club.

Hart > Navas
Zabeleta > Carvajal
Ottamendi > Ramos
Kompany > Pepe
Sagna < Marcelo
Fernandinho > Casemiro
Toure = Kroos
Silva = Modric
De Bruyne > Bale
Aguero > Benzema
Sterling < Ronaldo

Wtf at this, Man C man for man better than Real U cannot be more mistaken.

And nice one Adit

Our best chance of progressing is that Yaya-Fernandinho pivot

If Pellegrini goes with a Yaya Fernandinho double pivot then City doesn't deserve to go through. Last game against PSG he didn't though, so he may have learnt his lesson.

That being said, I think that Yaya is coming back from injury and so he wasn't started. I haven't followed City closely so I don't know if Pellegrini has learnt his lesson with the Yaya pivot or not yet

Having Yaya gives you better passing than when you have Fernando. I can already imagine how many misplaced passes Fernando will make under pressure

Fernando simply isn't a good footballer, not at this level anyway. Fernandinho is reliable both ways. If I were Pellegrini I'd gamble on Yaya putting in a shift defensively rather than start a much inferior footballer in Fernando.

Should be a cake walk for Madrid.

Expecting 4-1, Ronaldo 3, Kroos 1 and Silva 1.

Ronaldo will do the Reds of Manchester proud and smash City

You guys would actually rather have Yaya as part of the double pivot instead of Fernando despite how many years of Yaya in a deeper role leading to Man City being found out in European competition?

At this point it's not even about Fernando being an inferior player, it's about the shape of the City midfield and it's about introducing a player who is actually going to put in a defensive shift, tackle hard, take away passing lanes and all around actually work for the team. Countless times City have been found out because Yaya is too lazy to really give a crap. That's not terrible if you're playing in behind the striker, but that's the space that Silva and De Bruyne are primarily going to be occupying--leaving only one area for Yaya.

Talk about Fernando being an inferior player, but PSG were toothless against City in that second leg, and that was with Fernandinho-Fernando being the pivot (I don't recall the first leg and who was playing deeper).

Also Yaya's passing from deeper positions is better, but that doesn't mean it's that great. His passing can be incredibly sloppy at times.

Fernando isn't even half the player that Toure is, but he does have his benefits and attributes that I think are better for City against the likes of Madrid than Yaya. If City need a goal, by all means throw Yaya in, but I think Fernando is the better choice here personally.

Benching Yaya is not as simple but I'd expect Pellegrini to have the courage to do so as he'll leaving anyways. Easier to start him and take him out at 60' than benching him . I expect Yaya to start at least one of the 2 games.

This is the one time I will be supporting Real. Dont let me down you poses.

Why am I so convinced that City will go through? Is it because those we discard, now matter how mediocre they are, usually come back at some point to bite us in the behind? And I'm referring to Pellegrini here.

Or is it because City is this year's dark horse and could do what Juventus and Dortmund did before them to Madrid?

Or is it because I'm just thinking that if we struggled against the likes of Roma and Wolfsburg, a team like City would have a very good chance of knocking us out?

I really don't know, but I'm just almost 100% convinced City will knock us out. I hope I'm wrong.

Definitely nerves imo

We have a habit of underestimating teams. Id even go as far as to say we really needed that 2-0 loss to remind ourselves to not underestimate anyone. If we dont work hard even the likes of Malmö can knock us out. We havent had to work as hard in CL this season as the home game vs Wolfsburg. We coasted thtough everyone else. We tend to step it up 10 fold when we meet big teams with WC players. Kruse or Salah are hardly Kun or Silva we wont underestimate them i dont think

It happened in the LaDecima season too where we were nearly knocked out vs Dortmund due to complacency and that loss made us step it up vs Bayern and Atleti

City are a good team with many flaws. They will score but also concede its just a matter of keeping a clean sheet at home and get as many away goals as possible

Yes, definitely nerves, but also a little bit of skepticism induced by similar situations in the past - coupled of course with my inability to ignore our weaknesses and tactical shortcomings.

I hope I'm wrong, or more like, I hope Real Madrid proves me wrong.