Pep Guardiola once again showed his mastery of the game when he edged out Real Madrid with an emphatic 4-0 win in Champions League semifinal second leg at Etihad.
The former Barcelona boss launched his revenge axe on the Los Blancos, and harvested his due pound of flesh after he lost last year’s semifinal to the reigning European champions.
A relatively fluid and flexible attack, not woven around Erling Haaland but targeting attacking midfielders like Bernardo Silva yielded immense result for Guardiola.
While Alaba and Antonio Rudiger invested their efforts in marking Erling Haaland, the attacking threats from Manchester City’s midfield humbled the LaLiga giants.
Real Madrid defense also had a fair share of the blame but it was evident Carlo Ancelotti was outclassed by Pep Guardiola’s tactical masterpiece.
Before the game, Pep Guardiola was wholly confident he is going to dispatch Real Madrid at Etihad.
In a viral video making the rounds, Pep Guardiola could be seen reaching out to English pundit and Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, as the players were making their way off the pitch after the match.
The former Barcelona manager seemed to mutter words while pointing at Rio Ferdinand saying, “I told you…I told you.”
On the commentators stand, Rio Ferdinand then revealed Pep Guardiola was wholly confident going into the game. The Premier League legend revealed Guardiola texted him before the game saying he will win the game.
”He text me, Pep Guardiola text me before the game, saying Believe me, we beat them two years ago. We’ll beat them again. Believe,” Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport.
Real Madrid were a shadow of themselves at Etihad as they were pocketed by the Premier League champions from start to finish.
It was a deserved win for a better side. Bernardo Silva fired up the Citizens with a brace before Militao’s own goal drown the LaLiga side.
2022 World Cup winner, Julian Alvarez, compounded the woes of the visitors as he volleyed home a stoppage-time goal to make it 4-0 for Manchester City.
The Premier League champions have now reached two Champions League final in the history of the club and will be hoping to clinch the trophy this time after losing the 2021 final to domestic rivals Chelsea.
They will be facing Serie giants and three times winners, Inter Milan, at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul Turkey on June 10 for the blockbuster final clash.
Inter Milan edged out city rivals, AC Milan with a double at San Siro to make it to their first Champions League final in 13 years. Having won the trophy three times, the Serie A club will hope to add the elite European club trophy to their trophy hall but facing a treble-chasing City, hoping to land their first Champions League trophy will be difficult.
The 2022/23 Champions League will indeed be a cracker.
Who do you think will win this year’s Champions League final?
