5 Things We Learned From City’s Triumph In Madrid

Things didn’t look particularly promising when Isco put Real Madrid 1-0 up on the hour mark last night, with City coming under pressure from the home side.

However, a five-minute spell near the end of the game transformed the state of the tie and Pep Guardiola’s men now head into the second leg at the Etihad as favourites.

A lot of questions were answered by the Citizens, with the season running the risk of being a failure if they had been on wrong end of the result in the Bernabeu.

Press the next page as we take a look at five things we learned from City’s victory in Madrid yesterday.

De Bruyne Should Have Been Taking Penalties All Along

Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez have all tried and failed from twelve yards out so it wasn’t a surprise that yet another penalty taker was chosen by Guardiola.

It has been surprising how long it’s taken for De Bruyne to be given the responsibility. It is believed he was hesitant after missing his last one against Everton all the way back in 2016, but his composure to slot a pressure penalty into the right-hand corner of Thibaut Courtois’s goal demonstrated he should have been on them all along.

Gabriel Jesus Can Play On The Left Wing

Guardiola has experimented with playing both Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus this season, with the Brazilian playing out wide.

The change in position has worked out very well with the forward having worked his socks off on the left flank, as well as getting on the scoresheet last night.

False Nines Are Back In Vogue

Seeing De Bruyne selected up top instead of Aguero was a curveball by Guardiola but it was the right decision.

Just like the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester United, where Bernardo Silva also played as the false nine, it was a smart tactical ploy.

Gundogan And Rodri Can Play Together

It has been a bone of contention among City supporters that the two players simply don’t have enough pace to work together effectively in the middle.

The Bernabeu showed that, in European ties, at least, the pair can work in tandem in central midfield.

Guardiola Does NOT Need To Rebuild

Real Madrid may not be the formidable side they were a few years ago, but they have only lost twice in La Liga this season and they still have a whole host of quality players.

With that being the case, City should be given credit. They are not as consistent as they have been for the last two years, but they remain a force to be reckoned with under Guardiola.

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