Forever Blue With Ian Cheeseman: De Bruyne Comes Up Trumps As City Take First Leg Lead

It was billed as pure football against anti-football, beauty against the beast or even good against evil (that last one might be going a bit too far) with Manchester City riding the white horse and Atletico Madrid wearing the black mask.

Under Pep Guardiola City play football the way I always dreamed it should be played and Atletico set out to destroy and disrupt. 

When Pep was confronted with that suggestion at Monday’s prematch press conference, he gave it short shrift. He claimed that Diego Simeone’s Madrid were merely careful in possession but also brilliantly incisive going forward. I think he was being diplomatic, knowing that the Atletico camp would be made aware of every word he said. Pep certainly didn’t want to give City’s Champions League opponents more incentive to play well by calling them out for what they are. 

I was sat up near the front of the third tier, at the Etihad Stadium, on Tuesday evening, rather than in my usual season ticket seat in the lower tier of the Colin Bell Stand. I was reporting on the game for Indian TV channel Sony Six. My elevated view made it very easy to see Atletico’s 1-5-5 formation. I’d been chatting to former City striker Uwe Rosler over the weekend and he’d suggested that’s how the Spanish side would play on my Forever Blue podcast. During the game he texted, “I told you so”. To be fair I think most people who’ve watched Atletico would have expected something like that. 

Their reputation for cynical time wasting wasn’t as evident though. The referee added no stoppage time at the end of the first half and just two minutes at the end of the game. There had been several substitutions and Jack Grealish had been involved in an altercation that lasted a couple of minutes, so I think it should have been four, but there was certainly less play acting from Atletico that I’d expected. 

The first half was like watching a game in slow motion. Chances were few from City and non-existent from the visitors. Their game plan was to keep the score down. This season UEFA changed the away goals rule so that there is now no incentive to score in your away game. I think that’s a mistake, even though City have gone out of the competition in previous years due to that rule. Atletico surely would have mustered a shot on goal if the old rule had been in place. As it is now a 1-0 win for City keeps the tie in the balance. 

I still think City will win through to the semi-finals but (to state the obvious) Atletico only need one goal to draw level and potentially take it to penalties in Madrid. 

I wonder how they’ll approach the second leg in their own stadium. From City’s perspective the question in my mind is whether Kyle Walker, who was suspended on Tuesday, will return. He’s a wonderful, speedy fullback, but he does sometimes get caught up field and leave City’s right exposed. Will Ruben Dias be fit to return by them? 

Surely Phil Foden, who was an inspired substitute who set up Kevin De Bruyne’s crucial first leg goal, must start. Before that second leg, there’s the little matter of City against Liverpool in a game they’re describing as the title decider. It’s not, of course, because both clubs still have games to play, but a City win would take them four points clear at the top of the Premier League. A Liverpool win would mean they leapfrog the Blues to go two points clear while a draw would see City retain their one point advantage. My bet is that it’ll be a draw, with both teams determined not to lose. We’ll then be in for another nailbiting run in, like it was in 2019. One thing is for sure, City against Atletico was the hors d’oeuvres and there are three main courses coming still to come. I’m feeling stuffed after just the Spanish Omlette!