The Daily Bee: Manchester City Dismantle Real Madrid on Way to Champions League Final

Good Morning Fear the Wall

Manchester City booked their place in the Champions League final last night, taking apart Real Madrid with alarming ease, and coming away with a 4-0 win on the night (winning 5-1 on aggregate). Two goals from Bernardo Silva, and goals from Manuel Akanji and Julián Álvarez later in the game, sent Man City in to their second Champions League final ever, where they will face Inter Milan on 10th June 2023 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

Photo by Soccrates/Getty Images

The manner of City’s performance was incredibly impressive. If you had no knowledge of either team when watching last night, you would never have guessed that Real Madrid are the most successful team in the history of the sport, and are perennial challengers in the Champions League. I think this City side is up there with the very best teams I’ve ever seen, and last night’s performance might have been them at their best. Beyond their dismantling of Real, they also did exactly the same to Bayern Munich in the Quarter Finals, and smashing RB Leipzig 7-0 in the second leg of the Round of 16 adds to what has been a very impressive run.

Man City are now in with a shot at winning a treble, and at this point I wouldn’t bet against them. They are in control of their own destiny in the Premier League, and will be heavy favourites in both the FA Cup final and the Champions League final. It is looking increasingly likely that they will join their crosstown rivals, Manchester United, as the only English teams to have ever completed such a feat.

I’m sure there will be plenty of discussion about the issues surrounding a club owned by an authoritarian regime, and who have been credibly accused of many, many financial misdeeds in recent years, as well there should be. But I can’t be bothered to get into those right now (and I’m certainly not going to shed a tear for poor old Real Madrid). For now, I’ll just enjoy what is genuinely one of the best teams I’ve ever seen on a football pitch.

The Links

• Borussia Dortmund are looking to complete their move for Ajax’s Edson Alvarez by the end of the month. Alvarez is one part of BVB’s two-step plan for replacing Jude Bellingham, the other being Enzo Le Fee.
• There is a lot of interest in Rapha Guerreiro’s services coming from all over Europe, including from the Champions League finalists Inter Milan.
• Sadio Mané hasn’t made many friends at Bayern Munich, and the Senegalese forward looks set to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season. Personally, I think that not liking Mané is a red flag, because he’s a lovely boy.

The Daily Buzz

What chance are you giving Inter Milan in the Champions League final? Will they pull the upset?