At this stage of the Champions League, there are no bad teams remaining. Still, Manchester City and Real Madrid will both be thrilled that they drew exactly who they wanted to draw.
Manchester City vs. Real Madrid, Champions League draw: Everyone celebrating their luck
Heading into the Champions League semifinal draw, both of these teams wanted to draw each other more than the other two remaining teams.
From Madrid's perspective, City are the weakest of the remaining teams. And though it sounds ridiculous to say this about a team that's made the semifinal six consecutive times, Los Merengues are probably the team that City preferred to face. Getting crushed by Bayern Munich wouldn't be a great job interview for their players, while Atlético Madrid are a nasty matchup for everyone.
But the biggest beneficiary is you, the fan, because neither of these teams is great at defending. Both have great attackers. And the result is probably going to be a wide-open tie where both teams score multiple goals. Maybe the level of soccer in the other tie will be higher, but who cares? That will be a tight, tactical affair. This is just going to be fun.
Key matchup: City’s CMs vs. the BBC
When the Madrid forward line of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo is clicking, they're fluidly moving all over the place. There won't be any defender assigned to marking any of those players, and the entire back line is going to see a lot of them. The only way to limit their effectiveness is good positioning, something City's midfield has lacked all season. If they can't take away the easy passing lanes on the break for Madrid, they'll concede a lot of goals.
Key player: Sergio Aguero
The gulf in class between these two teams isn’t terribly dramatic, but City just haven’t been that good this season up until their tie against Paris Saint-Germain, and it’s fair to guess that they’ll generate fewer chances than Madrid in this one. It’ll be up to their one player who is very clearly world class -- Aguero -- to provide some moments of brilliance and make the most of the chances he does get.
Prediction: Madrid win
Not in a noncompetitive blowout, but by some number of goals. Los Merengues won’t need away goals or extra time.
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