Real Madrid (H) | CL SF 2nd Leg | Post-Match Thread

vmsuhail said:
A bit disrespectful. He was not the reason we couldn't string 4 wins together, or couldn't find Haaland. There are more factors in our rise - most importantly the form of Grealish, then Walker, Gundogan and Bernardo Silva getting back to their very best, the return of Dias, John Stones in midfield etc.
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It was a joke.
I'll label it next time for you.
 
Grealish has become an odd phenomenon. When he's on the ball you do feel reassured that he'll slow the game down when it's hectic or at least draw a foul.
 
69FACUPfinal said:
We did sadly. Colin The King got injured at Easter 1971 which was around the time of the two semi finals, so we had to field a weaker team, and losing at home 0-1 first leg was always going to make it difficult. I was devastated, early teens, first loss ( although losing to Rags 0-3 as FA Cup holders 4th round January 1970) was a mild taste of pain to come in later years.....).
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I was at that fucking game as well in the Stretford end as it was the only place I could get a ticket. A rare win for the rag scum back then.
 
Peaceful Terrier said:
Posted quickly last night to wish you all congratulations and didn't have time to compose anything proper due to needing to get my head down for a 3am start. Sat having some breakfast now and I still have adrenaline coursing through me from what I witnessed last night.

Something I've not actually revealed yet is that my 11 year old lad is a big City fan (despite my obvious and continual attempts to cajole him into a life of blue and white striped misery...), so I let him have a rare late "school night" to watch his heroes and I'm so glad I did. I can't lie, I've been watching football for 40 years now and that first 45 minutes was the greatest display I have seen by any team ever. It was absolutely fucking breathtaking and practically flawless. By the end of the game I was buzzing in almost the same way I did when I watched Town win the Championship playoffs at Etihad south back in 2017.

I haven't told the young un yet, but I'm planning on surprising him and bringing him over to Manchester for the parade when you bring that big shiny bastard back from Istanbul. And you WILL be bringing it back to sit next to the Premier League and FA Cup trophies. Last night was a huge statement to the rest of the footballing world. You have well and truly arrived. This is YOUR time City fans. Savour every moment of this.
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That's really nice comment, bet your young one was beside himself watching. A great performance from us, good on your lad too!
 
Manc in London said:
Fair point. Barca certainly had the sleight of hand we do not have but, like you said, we have the aggressiveness and athleticism. For me, it was about the high level of performance from everyone, the intensity, the suffocation of the opposition, focus and the speed in which we played. Blew my mind.
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I think it’s very hard to judge if this team is better than 2011 Barca because it’s just a different beast.

I think Pep’s Barca would get chopped to pieces playing in the Premier League against the likes of Stoke and Burnley every week. They’d probably still win of course but defending against the long ball, injuries and the higher intensity needed could have cost them 10-15pts a season versus their form in Spain.

I reckon Pep learned early on that the pinnacle Premier League team and the pinnacle La Liga team need to have different qualities. This City team is like the Darwinian evolution of that Barca team, adapted perfectly for its environment. We’re like two finches on different islands in the Galapagos. As you say, we have that athletic, commanding style with the right balance of mercurial. That Barca team was mercurial on steroids.

The drawback has been that our style is less well-suited to European ventures where the trade-off of physicality for skill makes less sense. But Pep has tinkered with that balance, brought in new elements like the false full back and I think since 2021 we realistically have been the best team in Europe by practically all measures (except for the most important one). Now we are seeing the summit, a team that is virtually perfect in form - bottled lightning. We just need to go out once more and etch it into history.
 
MeatnSpudsMCFC said:
Grealish has become an odd phenomenon. When he's on the ball you do feel reassured that he'll slow the game down when it's hectic or at least draw a foul.
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He seems to have fully bought into the need to not give the ball away. That may mean that he'll go back 20 yards or run across the pitch, but he doesn't often lose it.
 
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