At the Etihad Stadium, Blue Moon fans ushered in the most crucial game of the season.

The battle for revenge.

In last season's Champions League final, Manchester City defeated Real Madrid with an unexpected 0:3, which is also an extremely rare score in the Champions League final.

This season, Manchester City, with a luxurious and upgraded squad, is better than Real Madrid in terms of player value and average age.

Up front, Pep Guardiola fielded a nimble technical trio featuring Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden.

In midfield, De Bruyne, Rodri and B-Xi are in a triangular position.

At the back, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Ruben Dias and Oleksandr Zinchenko are the back four.

Goalkeeper is Edson Moraes.

"Riad, are you nervous?"

Although he is a seasoned Manchester City winger, in such a crucial game, Mahrez still unconsciously lowered his head and rubbed his nose.

This detail was also captured by former teammate Rossi.

"How so!"

Mahrez smiled awkwardly and stepped forward to hug him.

"To be honest, I really don't want to be a rival to you."

Rosie smiled and said meaningfully, "Be merciful today!" ”

After a brief exchange, Rossi walked up to Mendy and whispered: "Be careful, Manchester City will attack us on the right flank." ”

Mendy was taken aback, obviously not believing how Rossi could be sure that the opponent must be attacking on the right side.

"This guy Riad will keep rubbing his nose when he is nervous, and if he can be so nervous, he must have been assigned the main offensive mission."

Rossi's explanation made sense, and Mendy nodded, thinking it was always right to be careful.

Romanian referee Istfan Kovac officiated the game, and under his leadership, players from both sides stepped onto the pitch.

In Real Madrid's starting lineup, except for Casemiro, who was not in good form after recovering from injury, he was replaced by Valverde, and the iron could not be played in other positions.

It is worth mentioning that the only shortcomings in the lineups of both sides are on the defensive end.

City's two main full-backs, Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker, are out injured.

Real Madrid, the main defender, Casemiro sat on the bench.

How to deploy tactics and make up for loopholes has become the focus of the game between the coaches of both sides.

Karim Benzema and Ruben Dias guessed in the centre circle, with Real Madrid kicking off first.

After the referee's whistle, there was boos in the Etihad Stadium in an attempt to interfere with Real Madrid's pass.

Due to the absence of Manchester City's two main full-backs, Guardiola had to deploy Riyad Mahrez and Foden, who have strong ball handling ability, in the winger position, to strengthen the possession of the ball in the front.

At the same time, they use their active running to make up for the lack of oppression.

In just one minute, City will be focusing on the left side of Edouard Mendy and Luka Modric.

From the moment Mendy got the ball, he felt a strong desire to attack.

When he came to the ribs to receive the ball, he also walked into the encirclement set up by Manchester City.

Around him, there were four Manchester City players.

Mendy remembered Rossi's reminder and didn't hesitate for a moment to pass back to Abala and point to the other side, signaling him to pass the ball to the weak side.

But Alaba, who received the ball, didn't know if he was nervous or what, and passed it back to Mendy next to him.

But he actually passed a high ball and it hit Mendy's head by surprise.

The sudden play with fire at the back caused the Real Madrid defence to immediately tense.

The City players seized on the mistake and the pair quickly grabbed the ball back and handed it to Mahrez.

Mendy knew he was sharp and stood up for his position and defended his line to the baseline.

After seeing that the line of the bottom breakout was completely locked, Mahrez chose to pull sideways and go to the middle.

Kroos replaced Casemiro in midfield, but his defensive awareness was still a little worse.

When Mahrez started to cross the middle of the pitch, he did not rush up immediately, but stood in a line with the backline players to keep the defence intact.

But then the space outside the box was completely exploited by Mahrez, who calmly crossed with his feet.

Foden at the back post went straight into the Real Madrid penalty area from the ribs, stopped the ball on his chest, and volleyed home.

Right-back Carvajal was attracted to Zinchenko and didn't get inside at the first time, resulting in Foden not being able to stop the ball and shoot.

At such a close distance, even if he was as strong as Courtois, he couldn't react to make a save, and could only spread his hands towards the defense line after being scored, tilting his head and sighing.

【GOAL！！！！ 】

[Manchester City got off to a dream start in the first and a half minutes of the game! 】

[Mahrez assists Foden to score!] 】

[This is also what we have been saying before the game: There are two major problems in Real Madrid's defense! 】

[First, Casemiro's absence, the back line has lost an effective barrier! ] 】

[The second is the problem of Real Madrid's air defense! ] 】

[Manchester City's goal just now is to catch Real Madrid's two fatal problems! ] 】

[Mahrez is too easy at the front of the Real Madrid penalty area! ] 】

【1:0！ 】

[Manchester City leads at home!] 】

[By the way, this goal also created the fastest goal in the Champions League semifinals! ] 】

[It's also quite interesting!] 】

[Real Madrid's defense is often recorded for the fastest goal! ] 】

This goal also ignited the Etihad Stadium.

The fans excitedly waved the blue and white flags in their hands, and the surrounding area of the stadium suddenly rolled like waves, and the momentum was monstrous.

Carlo Ancelotti's use of Kroos in a midfield position today was inherently risky.

So next to him, Valverde, who has strong running ability, was placed to escort him.

But Kroos is not a defensive midfielder after all, and the timing of choosing to step forward to grab is not good.

In the past, he rushed up and grabbed it, and he was protected by Casemiro, who had strong defensive coverage.

Now it is necessary to take into account both offense and defense, and it is even more inaccurate to grasp the opportunity to seize the top.

In addition to the timing of the grab, Kroos does not have the ability to cover the defense in a wide area.

In the event of an emergency, he cannot make a reasonable choice in an instant, like Casemiro.

In the 10th minute, less than eight minutes after the last goal, when the City fans were still basking in the joy of scoring a goal, the Manchester City attack came again.

De Bruyne won the ball on the right flank, shook off Valverde's defence laterally and crossed with his feet.

Kroos, who was in the back behind him, did not move laterally at the first time and put pressure on the opponent with Valverde.

That's when De Bruyne shook off and had a chance to cross.

In the penalty area, Gabriel Jesus leaned on Militão with his back, took advantage of his quick turn, pulled the ball and turned around and fired quickly.

【GOAL！！！！！！ 】

[Manchester City has scored again!] 】

[Gabriel Jesus scored a goal for Manchester City in the 10th minute!] 】

[Now Manchester City has a 2:0 lead over Real Madrid!] 】

[This is absolutely beyond everyone's expectations! 】

[I thought it would be a fierce game! 】

[I didn't expect that after Manchester City started, the strong offensive ability of the striker players quickly knocked on the goal of Real Madrid! 】

[This is the real dream start!] 】

Off the pitch, Pep Guardiola clenched his fists and roared in a low voice, as if he was angry at the final that defeated Real Madrid a year ago.

But An Fat, who was on the side, was expressionless, crossed his hands on his chest, and calmly watched everything that happened on the court with familiar o_O eyes.

The result of the first ten minutes of the game had already confirmed that his pre-match tactics had failed, and Real Madrid had to adjust immediately.

But before An Pang could convey the deployment, not long after kick-off, Manchester City grabbed the ball again and launched a counterattack.

After a clean shake off Militão in midfield, B-Seat sent a lethal through ball to Mahrez on the right rib.

Faced with an almost one-on-one chance, Mahrez faced Mendy's interception and chose to burst into the top corner of the goal from a tight angle.

Manchester City fans behind the opposite goal, seeing the net tumbling and thinking the ball had gone in, were excited to bounce off their seats.

Mahrez then looked up to the sky and told them that the ball had hit the side-netting.

Just two minutes later, City continued to have chances down the right.

In the face of a half-goal, Mahrez poked the ball forward with ease, avoided Mendy's interception, and then smashed into the box to form a one-on-one and push into the far corner.

The ball pierced Courtois's fingers, but was denied by the post.

City missed another great chance to score.

After missing goals in a row, Guardiola was furious and ran wild.

Although he is now leading 2:0, in the face of a team like Real Madrid, he must attack with thunder and make the opponent doubt his life.

If both goals are scored to take a 4-0 lead, then City can almost seal a ticket to the final.

But Mahrez's shot allowed Real Madrid to escape from the ghost gate.

No, it's two calamities.

And it was this missed opportunity that made Manchester City, the spear of the original pioneer, sluggish.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, had to continue to use this most leaky shield to resist the impact of Manchester City.

At this point, the game was less than 15 minutes into the game.