The second half of the game was strange, it didn't look like a Champions League semi-final, but rather like a Spanish derby between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

City have a large number of Spanish internationals in their squad and it is not surprising that they have played possession-based tactics.

After the rise of Barcelona, there are countless teams in the entire European football world that imitate and learn Barcelona's pass-and-control style of play.

However, the only one who can do almost exactly the same as Barcelona is Manchester City.

The reason is simple, they have Lin Quan!

The imitation of other teams is in vain, and without Messi, the key link will not be able to play the kind of passing effect of Barcelona.

But there is Lin Quan on Manchester City's side, and he and Messi can't be said to be very similar, they are simply carved out of a mold.

With him, Manchester City's passing and control system is at least more than 50% similar to Barcelona.

In addition, Manchester City has only played two games with Barcelona not long ago, and has personally experienced the power of Barcelona's passing and control tactics, and the entire team, from the coaching staff to ordinary players, has a deep understanding of passing and control tactics.

This makes it easier for them to emulate Barca's tactics.

So Manchester City at this time does look very similar to Barcelona.

Seeing that the opponent played pass-and-control football, Real Madrid immediately raised their vigilance.

In the league, they have suffered a lot at the hands of Barcelona.

Due to Real Madrid's initiative to retreat, Manchester City took advantage of the passing and control of football and gradually grasped the initiative on the field.

Gradually, City's possession began to improve rapidly.

From a close split in the first half, it gradually became that Manchester City had more than 60 per cent possession and Real Madrid had less than 40 per cent.

But Real Madrid didn't feel nervous or panicked, they switched to defensive counter-attacks, and naturally gave up possession.

For them, as long as they can catch the mistakes in the opponent's attack, force the ball to break the ball and then play a successful counterattack, their goal has been achieved.

As for the possession of the ball, no matter how high the number is, can you win?

If you can't win, isn't everything a floating cloud?

Thinking of this, Real Madrid's players patiently organized the defense and strangled the players of Manchester City's team in the midfield, trying to seize the opponent's mistakes to play counterattack.

The battle between the two sides in the midfield immediately became intense!

Unlike Barcelona's midfielders, Manchester City's midfielders have a lower average age, with the oldest Yaya Toure only 31 years old and in his prime.

Kroos, Kevin De Bruyne and the younger age in general, should have the advantage in midfield.

However, Modric on Real Madrid's side, after going through the initial adaptation stage, is becoming more and more active.

In the 76th minute, after completing a steal, Modric sent a long ball to find Bale on the wing.

Daishing completed the side blast again at a gallop, but unfortunately the final shot was slightly wide of the goal, otherwise, Real Madrid would have equalized.

Manchester City, for their part, were taken aback by Real Madrid's counter-attack, and Pellegrini couldn't help but frown.

Although he had already seen the threat of Modric before the game, he specially arranged for Yaya Toure to mark him.

But now it seems that it has not been able to achieve the desired effect.

The 29-year-old Modric is already in his prime!

He is the metronome of Real Madrid's midfield, not only with great organisation and propulsion, but also with plenty of physicality and delicate technique, as well as an excellent vision of the big picture and a wide vision.

A top-class midfielder should have, Modric has it all!

Luka Modric's performance at both ends of the pitch today was evident and he would even be willing to give Modric the highest score on Real Madrid's side if he were to rate him.

In Pellegrini's eyes, Modric is even more important than Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale, two top stars.

It's hard to imagine that such a small player with a height of 172 can have such excellent defensive ability, and his excellent running ability allows him to cover a large area on the court.

Whenever City attacked, he was always present in the most crucial areas.

Although this also caused him to be passed by Lin Quan several times and reduced to a background board.

But being able to be a backdrop is a reflection of his defensive awareness.

As long as he doesn't meet Lin Quan, with his defensive sense, he can effectively help the team in defense.

If Modric only has defensive ability, it won't be a headache for Pellegrini.

But Modric is too well-rounded, he is not only strong defensively, but also more attacking!

He is the playmaker within the Real Madrid team and the metronome of the transition between attack and defence.

Real Madrid's attack will become more threatening after Modric's combing.

Not to mention that he makes the pass directly, which is even more threatening!

So, Modric must be restrained!

Thinking of this, Pellegrini took advantage of the dead ball and told Yaya Toure a few words, asking him to mark Modric specifically and let De Bruyne help him.

This adjustment has had some effect, but it has also had a significant impact.

Due to Modric's range of movement, he can move forward into the City box when attacking and drop back into his own box when defending.

As a result, Yaya Toure and Kevin De Bruyne were a bit tired and unknowingly wasted a lot of energy on defence.

Yaya Toure is also counted, De Bruyne is the attacking playmaker of Manchester City's front.

When he wasted his energy on defense, the help he provided to the team on the offensive end plummeted.

As a result, City's attack was empty in the second half, but it was difficult to pose a real threat.

Seeing this scene, Ancelotti breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the counterattack was not successful, it was barely acceptable to maintain this result.

Wait until you return to Real Madrid's home stadium, and then let Manchester City see the true strength of Real Madrid!

Ancelotti just had such an idea, and saw Lin Quan relying on his personal strength, forcibly passing the two and then bursting into the penalty area to force a shot.

When he saw Lin Quan banging on the door, Ancelotti felt that his heart was about to be scared out.

Thankfully, Casillas made a crucial save to defuse the danger.

Otherwise, Real Madrid will be 2 goals behind!

"Damn, it's been eighty-five minutes, how can this guy still have such physical fitness?"

Ancelotti glanced at the time on the scoreboard and couldn't help but curse in a low voice.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have played each other a lot in the league, so the study of Messi is comprehensive.

They know that a player like Messi will be depleted quickly because of the high frequency of dribbling and passing.

Messi often walks on the field and rarely participates in the team's defense, just because he wants to save his physical strength and use it to launch attacks.

With his understanding of Messi and applying it to Lin Quan, Real Madrid subconsciously thought that Lin Quan would have physical problems in the second half, especially near the end of the game.

After all, he not only participated in a lot of offense, but also participated in defense a lot of times, and at this stage, his physical consumption should be more serious than Messi.

Therefore, at this stage, Lin Quan should no longer have the physical strength to launch such an attack.

But the reality surprised them!

Looking at Lin Quan's breakthrough and passing just now, and the last moment of carrying Ramos's body to force the shot, where does this look like he has no physical strength?

No, no, you can't drop the chain at the most critical time, you have to strengthen your defense!

Thinking of this, Ancelotti immediately prepared to make substitution adjustments.

He replaced Isco with a defensive player in an attempt to strengthen the defense.

Isco was a little depressed, his performance in this game was not bad, but the manager wanted to make a change, and he didn't dare to complain, so he could only go down honestly.

Real Madrid's substitution was a signal for Ming Jin to withdraw his troops, and after receiving this signal, the players began to devote more energy to defense and no longer invested too many troops to attack.

This makes Manchester City's attack more difficult, and Lin Quan can't rely on his individual strength to complete the breakthrough, because the person replaced by Ancelotti is specifically targeting him, making it difficult for him to get the space to start.

Five minutes later, Carlo Ancelotti made another change, replacing Karim Benzema with a central midfielder.

This substitution was even more ruthless, Real Madrid's strangulation in the midfield was further improved, Manchester City's attacking organization was a little disrupted, and the threat of attack was further reduced.

In the end, after 90 minutes, Manchester City won 3-2 at home to Real Madrid.

This result is barely acceptable for both Manchester City and Real Madrid.

For Manchester City, they defended their home turf and won the game, not much, but they did win.

For Real Madrid, they scored away goals and came from behind with just one goal difference.

Therefore, when they return to home, they only need to score one goal to knock Manchester City out.

This kind of request is easy for Real Madrid, which has a strong attacking ability.

Therefore, when he shook hands after the game, Ancelotti did not see any frustration and disappointment on his face, and shook hands with Pellegrini with a smile and chatted with him for a while.

On the field, although the players on both sides were a little unwilling, they were also acceptable to this result.

Bale found Lin Quan at the end of the game and offered to exchange jerseys with him.

This was agreed between the two sides before the game, so Lin Quan did not refuse, and happily took off his jersey and handed it to Bale.

"See you in Madrid!"

Bale took the jersey, patted Lin Quan's shoulder, and said with a smile.

"Okay, see you in Madrid!"

Lin Quan also nodded in response.

Ronaldo had not left the field at this time, he was drinking water on the sidelines, and after seeing this scene, he snorted coldly and turned around and walked into the players' tunnel.

The Manchester City players did not leave the pitch immediately, but went around the pitch under captain Vincent Kompany to thank the supporters who had come to the stadium.

The enthusiasm of the fans was high and they were very excited to win at home against the mighty Real Madrid.

Although the score of 3:2 does not seem ideal, but if you can win, what more bicycle do you need?

That's Real Madrid!

In his post-match press conference, Carlo Ancelotti said he was comfortable with the score and was confident his side would get a ticket to the final at the Bernabeu.

"Yes, I'm confident that the team will qualify for the final, we have a winning record at home and I'm sure this time will be no different!"

The reason why Carlo Ancelotti is so confident is not only because of Real Madrid's excellent hard power, but also because of their excellent record at home this season.

Real Madrid have played a total of five Champions League home games this season, and their current record is to win all of them, not lose a single one, and almost all of them have won by two goals or more.

Real Madrid also have a good record away from home, but at home, that's when they're at their scariest!

After interviewing Carlo Ancelotti, reporters approached the Manchester City manager and asked him what he thought of the next trip to the Bernabeu.

Manuel Pellegrini expressed cautious optimism:

"My team is in the lead, after this game we have tested the quality of Real Madrid, they are strong but not invincible, and the next game at the Bernabeu we will still aim to win the game!"

If it had been before the game, Pellegrini's words would have been of little credibility.

But after watching the whole game, many people were impressed by the strength of Manchester City.

To be able to beat the mighty Real Madrid at home, Manchester City is really strong.

But everyone is not optimistic that Manchester City can beat Real Madrid away from home!

Home and away are completely different experiences, and winning at home doesn't mean you can win away from home, let alone the Bernabeu!

After the game, the spinach company also updated the handicap immediately.

Although Real Madrid is behind in the score, their odds are much lower than Manchester City, and it is clear that Spinach is also more optimistic about Real Madrid advancing to the final.

But given the strength shown by Manchester City at home, the odds offered by Spinach are not too outrageous.

The odds between the two sides are about 3.5 to 6.5, Real Madrid has the upper hand, but there are also many who are optimistic about Manchester City.

After the game, the major media reported the game for the first time.

Marca: Real Madrid failed to capture the Etihad Stadium, but two away goals were enough to satisfy Carlo Ancelotti and we were one goal away from reaching the final!

As: Real Madrid only need two more games to lift their 10th trophy!

The Guardian: Manchester City defended their home glory with a win over mighty Real Madrid to not only keep their hopes of reaching the final alive, but also to the surprise of those who fancied Manchester City before the game!

The Times: It's not a good scoreline for Manchester City, the next game at the Bernabeu is going to be very tough, and they need to be in the best shape to go all out for the next game!

"BBC": 1 shot and 2 passes, Lin Quan used an explosive performance to take a comprehensive lead in this competition of top stars, after this game, no one should question whether Lin Quan can stand side by side with the peerless Shuangjiao, now there is only one question, when will he get his first Golden Ball Award?

(End of chapter)