Last season, the Brazil winger assisted the France forward five times in the Champions League, the most frequent assister/goalscorer combination, and he has provided for him twice this season too, including in the last round at home to Chelsea. When discussing Ancelotti’s key men, the obvious players to turn to are Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior as Madrid’s key attacking threats.Īt 35 years old, Benzema’s ability to drop into pockets of space, hold the ball up, and find runners ahead of him is still elite, while Vinicius Jr continues to instil fear in any defender he faces with his devastating speed and propensity to take on his man. Yet somehow, Madrid won 3-1 in the closing minutes. This season, Liverpool (last 16) and Chelsea (quarter-final) have been swept aside, setting up a repeat of last year’s semi-final against City.Ĭity dominated both legs for arguably 90 per cent of the game, seemingly strolling to the final with a 4-3 home victory and a 1-0 lead after 85 minutes in the Bernabeu. Madrid have a penchant for beating English teams in Europe recently.Įn route to their 14th Champions League win last season, Ancelotti’s men overcame Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool to lift the trophy. Mark Carey and Liam Tharme pick out some of the key statistical and tactical trends to tee up this mouthwatering Champions League tie.
As the “master tactician” Pep Guardiola comes up against the “master of quiet leadership” Carlo Ancelotti, who will come out on top on May 17?
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