On Wednesday night, City never looked like scoring in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
They went out of the only CL semi-final in their history with a whimper.
On Thursday night in the Europa Cup, Liverpool, at home to Villarreal and facing a 0-1 deficit from the first leg, played with raw desire, fighting for every ball from the first whistle into stoppage time.
Milner and Can and Firmino were very good, Lallana and Lovren too, Sturridge sharp & quick, close to his best form.
It’s a pity that Man City went to Real Madrid and were far too polite
Manuel Pellegrini is a 66-year-old old gentleman who decided to start Yaya Toure, a huge midfielder who cannot run.
When I saw Toure, I knew that Aguero wouldn’t get a kick against Ramos and Pepe.
Toure is loathed by Citeh fans, despite some scoring some phenomenal goals this season, goals that nobody else in the Premier League could score.
Bottom line, Pellegrini has allowed his multi-millionaires to under-perform, missing the chance to grab the title when Chelsea and Man United were unrecognisable. His approach seems essentially nostalgic and passive, mostly preferring to pick the side that’s won games for him in the past.
With Ronaldo coming back after missing the first leg, I figured Citeh’s chances were very slim anyway. Kompany went off injured early on, Bale scored with a deflected shot, and, while it was tight, I never thought that Citeh could equalise, let alone win.
Their squad will be flat now and apprehensive about what the very demanding Pep Guardiola will do with them.
So Sunday is a very good time for Arsenal to go to the Etihad.
.Jurgen Klopp is a 48-year old fireball who has galvanised Liverpool since taking over in October.
Predictably, Thursday night at Anfield was a blitzkreig by the energy team that had fought back from 2-0 down against Borussia Dortmund to win 4-3 in stoppage time.
While Manchester City made Real Madrid look much better than they are, Liverpool hustled Villarreal relentlessly, from the kick-off right into stoppage time.
It worked. They won 3-0.
VERDICT: May is the month of Cup Finals.
In Basle on Wednesday May 18th, Seville will face a red tornado, a whirlwind of gegenpressing that might destroy their rhythm and break their hearts.
Klopperpool don’t let you play.
Man City showed Real Madrid far too much respect in both legs.
In Milan on Saturday, May 28th, their noisy neighbours Atletico won’t do that.