Real Madrid Vs. Manchester City, 2012 UEFA Champions League: Halftime Score 0-0 At The Bernabeu

Roberto Mancini selected Maicon at right back for the match, and the former Inter man has had his hands full with Cristiano Ronaldo. Even though the supposedly sad Ronaldo has not been at his best, he's torn Maicon apart on a few occasions. He had a shot saved by Joe Hart in the 9th minute after he beat both Maicon and Vincent Kompany easily, then forced Hart into another save just three minutes later.

In the 20th minute, Gonzalo Higuain had perhaps the best chance of the half, but Hart did well to rush out and get a small piece of Angel di Maria's lofted ball over the top of the defense. Higuain caught up to it and cut back for Ronaldo, who had a shot blocked. The third chance fell to Sami Khedira, who shot over.

An injury prematurely ended the day of Samir Nasri, and Mancini took the forced substitution as an opportunity to make a tactical switch. He brought in Aleksandar Kolarov for Nasri, which moved Clichy to left central defense as City shifted from a 4-3-3 to a formation with three at the back.

Madrid continued to press forward in the closing minutes of the half, but was unable to make the most of their chances. Di Maria looked like the biggest beneficiary of City's tactical switch, and he had a couple of solid half-chances in the last five minutes of the half. The switch to a back three seems to have helped Maicon a bit, and Ronaldo became less of a threat late in the half. Surely, Jose Mourinho will make changes in the locker room to account for Mancini's tactical switch.