Real Madrid will travel to England for fifth time in two seasons next week, as they look to continue their excellent record against Premier League sides. Manchester City stand in their way, the best of the bunch in England, but Stan Collymore has backed Los Blancos to ‘nick it’.
Real Madrid have lost three, drawn three and won three against City, but have only ever been put out by Pep Guardiola’s side once in 2019. On Tuesday neither could gain the upper hand definitively, although in the Spanish capital, there was a feeling that Los Blancos had the better of the game.
Speaking to Caught Offside, Stan Collymore expounded his thoughts on the match.
“I think the tie is really even – it’s so finely poised. Even if Manchester City came away from the Santiago Bernabeu leading one-nil, you still couldn’t discount Real Madrid in the return leg next week.”
“Karim Benzema had a quiet night on Tuesday, so you’d expect him to turn up at the Etihad. Vini Junior is on fire, and with all the experience they have, particularly in midfield with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, Los Blancos are definitely still in this semi-final.”
He did feel that Los Blancos have a slight edge though.
“Manchester City will be clear favourites, especially as they’ll be playing at home, but with that comes a whole heap of pressure, and this situation in Europe isn’t something the club are overly familiar with, so it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out.”
“It’s tough to call a winner, but given Madrid’s rich history in this competition and how they believe the Champions League is their trophy, I’m going to say the Spaniards will nick it 2-1 on the night.”
That was the message coming out of Madrid too. Reports from the Spanish capital say that Los Blancos were comfortable with the game that took place at the Santiago Bernabeu, and were at the very least just as good as Manchester City.
Stan Collymore – why does anyone give the man space?
He is a self obsessed fool.