“Strong Night” as TNT commentator expresses compassion for the excellent £51 million Man City player versus Real Madrid

Returning to the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City and Real Madrid tie 3-3. During the game tonight, Steve McManaman voiced his sympathies for a particular individual.

In the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal, the prizes were divided at the Bernabeu, and Pep Guardiola will probably be satisfied with the outcome in the end.

After Real Madrid scored twice in a short period of time in response to an early goal from Bernardo Silva, City labored in the first half.

City got back level in the second-half through Phil Foden, who wowed Gary Lineker with his strike, before Josko Gvardiol scored a beauty of his own.

But Fede Valverde found an equaliser for the hosts.

Lots of City players were very involved in the game, but it was another quiet night for Erling Haaland – and commentator Steve McManaman expressed his sympathy for the Norwegian…

MORE MAN CITY STORIES Steve McManaman says Erling Haaland had ‘excellent’ movement against Real Madrid but his Man City teammates didn’t find him

 

City fans were hoping to see Haaland enjoy a goal-filled performance tonight, as his scoring rate has slowed a little bit lately.

But there was very little chance of that tonight, because he really didn’t see much of the ball.

As per Sofascore, he had just 20 touches of the ball, and completed just six passes all game.

We know that this is how it usually is with Haaland, and that City often just work the ball from side to side rather than playing the ball incisively through the middle for the number nine.

But McManaman actually did feel a bit sorry for Haaland this evening against Real Madrid, believing he actually showed really good movement at times.

He said during the game on TNT Sports: “Haaland’s movement has been excellent tonight. He just doesn’t receive the ball a lot of the time because of course, it’s the way Manchester City play.

“They just have to be quicker with it. They’re moving the ball from side to side and keeping good possession but they very rarely feed him. But his movement, in his defence Erling Haaland, has been great. He runs from side to side wanting the ball a lot of the time.”

An off night for Haaland

Haaland did make some really good runs tonight, but by and large, it was not a great performance from the big man.

Antonio Rudiger had said before the game that he was keen to nullify Haaland, and he did that pretty effectively throughout.

He made life very difficult for the £51 million star.

Between that and the City players not really finding him, it was certainly a frustrating evening for the former Borussia Dortmund man.

It is fair to say that when Kevin De Bruyne is not playing for City, Haaland suffers. The Belgian is usually the one who tries to be a bit more direct and take risks in trying to find Haaland, and his absence seemed to affect his teammate.

UEFA confirms the Real Madrid Bernabeu roof request decision for the Man City match

Real Madrid’s desire to play their Champions League match against Manchester City under cover has been approved by UEFA.

The Santiago Bernabeu is undergoing renovations, and one of the new roofs installed in September has the ability to shut down the stadium when it is in use. Real will be able to organize more events throughout the year to diversify their revenue stream with the help of a retractable roof, but Los Blancos have also utilized it for football.

Real Madrid asked UEFA if Tuesday’s match may assist them achieve their goal of scaring the team that eliminated them from the Champions League the previous season.

As part of their plans to create an intimidating atmosphere to help the team against the club who knocked them out of the Champions League last season, Real asked UEFA if Tuesday’s game could take place with the roof closed – and the request has been accepted. City were aware of the situation but did not have a say in the decision as the away team.

At Real’s last game, fans held up a banner calling for all supporters to dress in white for the first leg of their quarter-final as they aim to put on a show against City. The atmosphere at the Etihad for last year’s semi-final stunned Real players and Spanish journalists in attendance, and the La Liga giants are desperate to make the most of their home advantage this year ahead of what they expect to be another tough second leg in Manchester.

Meanwhile, Spanish police confirmed they are on high alert after ISIS issued a stark warning ahead of Real’s clash with City in Madrid. The Al Azaim Foundation, a media outlet frequently used by ISIS to disseminate messages, released a chilling poster with the message ‘Kill them all’ and listing the names of the four venues hosting Champions League matches. This has led to heightened security measures in Madrid.

As for the match itself, Pep Guardiola would love his team to triumph again, although admits City are weaker than they would like to be heading into this one. Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker have been ruled out completely with injury, while there are also doubts over Josko Gvardiol.

“He’s a doubt. It is what it is. Also Madrid have [Thibault] Courtois, [David] Alaba, [Eder] Militao out this season,” said Guardiola. “It’s true that the best player to control a player like Vinicius is Kyle. Unfortunately he was injured in a friendly game. It is what it is.

“We would love to have him but what can I say. We play with 11 and try to adapt with the players that we have because injuries are part of a long season.

“But in a decisive part we have a lot of injuries in the same department in the back four and we have to find a solution. We have to think more about what we have to do and get a good result for the second leg.”

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