Real Madrid will play a decisive confrontation today, Wednesday, against defending champion Manchester City in the English stronghold, Etihad Stadium, in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

The first leg was in the Merengue stronghold, “Santiago Bernabeu”, and ended in a draw (3-3).

For the third season in a row, Real Madrid faces Manchester City in the playoffs, as confrontations have become familiar and expected by fans of both teams in particular, and football fans in general.

Rodrigo's stab

Perhaps the most prominent memory of the confrontations between Manchester City and Real Madrid, which is still stuck in the minds of the fans of both teams, is the second leg of the semi-finals of the season (2021-2022).

Then, Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid’s coach, decided to bring in the young Rodrigo as a replacement for Toni Kroos in the 68th minute, as the result indicated City’s lead with Riyad Mahrez’s goal, and in the first leg the English were victorious with a score of (4-3).

Everything indicated that City had qualified for the final, but the young Brazilian had a different opinion.

Rodrigo scored the equalizer in the 90th minute for the Merengues, and one minute later he scored the second goal, which extended the match to extra time, amid great astonishment for Guardiola and his players, and great joy throughout the Santiago Bernabeu.

During extra time, Frenchman Karim Benzema added the third goal from a penalty kick, taking the Merengues through to the final, and later the Royal team won the 14th title in its history, which is one of the most important titles in the history of the Spanish capital club and its fans due to the dramatic scenarios that the team experienced.

The hard lesson

The following season (2022-2023), the semi-final draw put Real Madrid in the way of Manchester City.

This time Guardiola and his players learned the lesson well, and despite coming out with a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Bernabeu, the lesson in the second leg was harsh.

Guardiola taught Ancelotti and the Real Madrid players a harsh lesson, as the Royal team was beaten 4-0.

Ancelotti also made massive mistakes that cost him elimination against City. Despite Antonio Rudiger's brilliance in the first leg, he decided to rely on Militao instead of him, but the Brazilian appeared at a very poor level.

The Italian coach pushed the duo Kroos and Modric together in the midfield, and they failed to match the physical superiority of the City players.

Otherwise, he decided to continue Karim Benzema until the end of the match, even though his performance was clearly declining, and he was late in making changes so that City could impose complete control over the course of the game.