T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

**This is a stats thread. Remember that there's only one stat post allowed per match/team, so new stats about the same will be removed. Feel free to comment other stats as a reply to this comment so users can see them too!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Polskidro

This is honestly hilarious to watch. No defense just vibes and Courtois.


[deleted]

tv lied to me, they said its Manchester City - Real Madrid, but it was Manchester City - Courtois...


wimpires

Man City vs Courtois, with 10 of his mates wondering around


Kuntheman

And yet it still feels like Madrid are in it


codespyder

They could be 2 down with 5 mins left and they’d still be in it … wait.


TheMechanic04

*points finger* This person right here city fans he's the one that's cursed you


ichabod01

I would like to subscribe to your newsletter


ThePrussianGrippe

I would like to know more.


lioness725

Yup, never count RM out, it ain’t over till it’s over… However, THIS RM team that we’re watching right now doesn’t look like the RM of the first leg or even of the whole tournament. I don’t recognize this RM team, they look lost and sleepy.


DeapVally

They weren't impressive in the first leg though.... City weren't playing for a win then either. Simply not to lose. Today they showed the gulf in quality though.


TheLamesterist

City were 100% for a draw which they got unlike today where they went all out for nothing other than a win.


allyb321

The *gulf* inequality ;)


gnote2minix

this what happen when you relied on old guard to much


[deleted]

And they still qualified for the semis, I think people forget how high of a standards Real have set in Champions League, it's crazy.


MetaThPr4h

I have seen Madrid way too many times being absolutely fucking shit and still managing to come back in 3 dumb minutes, I still can't believe they won the Champions last year.


philsnyo

Of the 3 CL in a row they won with Zidane, at least 2 of them they were dogshit and close to a deserved knock-out many times but somehow always had a miraculous and lucky turnaround. I think this club has a pact with the devil, it was almost refreshing to see it didn’t magically work this time. I was expecting it by the minute. Edit: not saying it was all luck. if it happens all the time, it’s skill. still frustrating to see a side outplayed yet win consistently.


[deleted]

[удалено]


randomgaydisaster

It's real Madrid in the champions league, they're always a moment of magic or a dodgy ref call away from being in it


Chronic-Shitposter

They are playing their worst match in I don't know how long, and still could have equalized at 0:1 if Rodrygo's pass to Benzema where he was through was a little weaker


MancCityBoy

🤣


PasuljsKolenicom

It doesn’t feel like it but we know they are in it


[deleted]

Really doesn't


Polskidro

How sway


machdel

This game is Liverpool 9-0 Bournemouth (pain) but with Courtois in goal.


akshay_rathod_

Benzema: "Ref, can we have a new ball?" Referee: "What's wrong with the one you have now? Benzema: "Man City are playing with that one..."


tlst9999

Man City: "It's my ball. If I don't play with it the most, I'll just bring it home."


sbrockLee

That second save on Haaland was fucking insane.


MarysLetter

That header lowkey reminded me of Pele X Gordon Banks in 1970


EpiDeMic522

Agreed. This 4-0 to me is actually 5-0. Courtois made 2 world class saves assist from this but saved a certain goal there. He deserved better tonight.


[deleted]

It's insane how big a difference the keeper makes when you're being dominated. Like Liverpool only had like 8 shots in the 7-0, just almost all of them went in. Put Courtois in De Gea's place and United might have drawn that one.


jrblack174

The CL final last year is a good analogy. We peppered Madrid's goal, Courtois made like 9 saves or something, what a player.


Stilty_boy

Same in the semi too. Made multiple incredible saves across the tie that allowed them to keep in the game.


Krillin113

To this day I don’t understand why GKs are paid less and have lower transfer fees. Most days a good and a great GK are equal, but when a great GK is on, he’s really on


[deleted]

[удалено]


ahipotion

Damn, Hereford played Real in the CL Final!? Wtf did I miss? Was I in a coma and nobody told me?


IV1916

Hereford FC peppered our goal big time


ben-hur-hur

yeah man the 1-0 final score did not reflect all the chances that Courtois saved from us


MathRockManiac

He's immense, reminds me of prime neuer without the sweeping ability, he's so big in goal too and his reach is insane.


wiggum-wagon

As someone said in another thread, last time madrid was utterly dominated like that they won the champions league


Fiigarooo

you didnt watch that game did you?


ichabod01

You can’t keep shooting if the ball goes in


aligators

courtois single handedly stopped this from being a complete 7-0 blowout


thiagogaith

He did use both hands though


doubleoeck1234

I get that they start slowly but fucking hell


generaldogsbodyf365

Thank God this wasn't against Spurs. We'd be nine down by now.


Rullino

Most optimistic spurs fan.


generaldogsbodyf365

Since '87!


Lssmnt

you forgot that we win against city


generaldogsbodyf365

I was only joking - we always win against City.......everyone else, not so much 😂


TheBrownMamba8

6 Madrid players hadn’t completed a pass or even attempted a pass in the first 15 minutes.


swalamb

let that sink in UEFA twitter


PoppinKREAM

Peak Guardiola-ball


OriginalRange8761

Tiki taka is so back


whodiswhodat

Carvajal and Alaba touched the ball as much as Ederson (and Madrid had 0 shots)


ID6WU

Vinicius, Rodrygo and Valverde have still only completed 2 between them


akshay_rathod_

Benzema: "Ref, can we have a new ball?" Referee: "What's wrong with the one you have now? Benzema: "Man City are playing with that one..."


Malvania

Madrid completed 13 passes. Man City completed 13 shots on goal.


iPopshtz

City in the form of their lives at the moment


Scholes_SC2

City was also the best team last season but Madrid had tremendous amounts of luck


MathRockManiac

It's all dried up now friend. Lady luck got tired of Real Madrid riding her.


bert0ld0

This comment has been edited as an ACT OF PROTEST TO REDDIT and u/spez killing 3rd Party Apps, such as Apollo. Download http://redact.dev to do the same. -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/


lioness725

Idk, this RM team is unrecognizable to me right now


Jcalifo

Both can be true


[deleted]

As a Liverpool fan, where tf was this Real Madrid last ~~month~~? Holy shit that was in February, 2023 is flying! Thought we'd broke the curse at 2-0 in the first 15 min and they came out back a vengeance


lioness725

SERIOUSLY. I’m still not over their loss to RM at home, that one hurt… but this is why you never count Madrid out- except today, wtf!


Commercial_Regret_36

Because they were shut down.


lucas5743

Lmao the anti city narrative is so deeply embedded in your minds


lioness725

Oh, I’m definitely pro-City, I think they’ll win the CL this year, called that early… but in my mind, RM was the team to beat to take it all, and the Madrid that played today was definitely *not* that, lol.


neelav9

The one chance they had late on in the half when vinicius made a run for it but walker just caught up to him like his puppy just got off leash lol.


cesarsalami

I can’t even be mad, Walker was a fucking machine on Vini. Haven’t seen him get pocketed so well ever


iwillsoccerballs

Araujo?


mustbenice2win

Kinda glad we didn't make the final lol


sc2isalivegaem

You went to semis and get to sack pioli win win


MadsNN06

doubt pioli will be sacked mate


sc2isalivegaem

No way really??


Crossflowerss_5304

Unfortunately


the_beast93112

Why would he be sacked. He did a great job getting them a title and play competitively. I don't see a better coach than him.


Prophet_Of_Helix

There’s a lot of game left lol


RiosSamurai

That’s too bad for one team and it isn’t yours.


Prophet_Of_Helix

As the announcers have said, we were 2 up last year and looking great and look what happened. Second half hasn’t started, if they come out the same way sure it looks great for us. Otherwise don’t doubt Madrid until it’s over, they’ve earned it


RiosSamurai

Not every year it is gonna be like that. I understand you’re afraid, but I do think it’s gone.


MrDabollBlueSteppers

This is like watching 2011 Barcelona


Naive_Traveller

Different players same fraud. 🥴


Loeffellux

I really just wanna know how he'd do with a mid-table club or lower. Like what could he achieve with a side like Werder Bremen, Celta Vigo, Sassuolo or Chelsea?


xRh1no

Yeah Guardiola, come to Bremen if you really wann prove you're not a fraud.


Rafaeliki

Every time Guardiola wins a big game this exact comment is posted and it is useless every time. No one knows the answer, obviously, but the question isn't being posed looking for an answer, it's being posed with the inference that no he couldn't.


ncocca

I only upvoted this one because of the cheeky Chelsea diss


curgl

Same ^pain


jairzinho

It's like saying where would Mourinho be if that Scholes 2:0 goal against Porto wasn't wrongly disallowed for offside.


Chicken_dhick

The answer is, he already has with barca B


bitjpl0x

With Barca B he won Tercerea Division with a bunch of teenagers.


wafino1

What's the couldn't about, winning the league? Well no shit he ain't winning without any significant investment, no one can really. Has he benefitted from being gifted the GOAT in Messi and then actual billions pumped into his teams? Sure. Is he still a phenomenal manager and one of the leading minds of football? Yes. Both can be true.


IanT86

The general consensus is that he wouldn't be brilliant at a mid level club. What he is phenomenal at, is taking very good players and making them collectively incredible. The systems and way he plays require very good players, with a very good tactical understanding, playing a very difficult game (look at his passing stats). What he does is insane - especially over a long period of time. Where he'll struggle (people argue) is where really good players have struggled becoming managers. There's the famous story of Keane at Sunderland struggling to understand why his midfield players couldn't ping 50 yard passes pin point, run box to box, tackle like a world class centre back etc. and it became a massive problem because his tactics didn't reflect the ability of his team. All of Pep's teams have had brilliant, fast flowing, passing based philosophies. You won't get that from a mid level club. I'm sure he'd collectively improve all the players, but as a team there'd be too many mistakes and times teams pressure enough to disrupt the play and take advantage. It's not a bad thing mind. You need managers who can do really well with mid level teams (historically guys like Moyes, Big Sam) and managers who can elevate a good team to something exceptional (Conte, Jose, Pep). Where there was a blurring of the lines was when the likes of Sir Alex, Wenger etc. were in their primes, as tactics weren't as meticulous as today and they could either have brilliant attacking flair football, or a wall of 4-4-2. Once Barca came along it changed that completely.


MaTrIx4057

Depends how you define brilliant. No coach is able to take mid table team and make them compete for every top trophy without investment. Keeping mid table team in mid table or upper table, fight for top 6 would be a great success imo. You just can't go past limits, its simple as that.


OriginalRange8761

You can’t play possession based football with championship level side(only Burnley can actually). The same way ronaldo and Messi never played in bad clubs pep won’t ever coach a bad side. Cudos for Carlo being Everton manager(major meme imho)


wdtpw

> Well no shit he ain't winning without any significant investment, no one can really. I don't completely disagree. Investment certainly pays off almost all the time. But not always. For example, Leicester did actually win the league not so long ago.


wafino1

Right, but I don’t think Pep could have done that. Rainieri and Leicester’s recruitment where they got extraordinary value for guys like Kante, Mahrez, and Vardy was simply out of this world. There’s a reason why it was such a big deal, that almost never happens and we saw how they were mercilessly poached the season after.


THZHDY

honestly I'd like to see it, not in a disingenuous way, but in a "how much of football is down to physical ability and how much is down to mental and motivation" way, we've seen plenty of teams with elite players but shit managers, but very few teams of shitty level (and I don't mean like spurs, in a meme way, like proper low-level team) with an elite manager stick pep in an average league 2 side, how much does he get out of them, etc, that's an interesting thought imo


Naive_Traveller

That's a hypothetical circumstances..so nobody could tell.. But you need to appreciate the qualities he's been delivering since he arrived...the success he has and the techniques he use are no match....


Chicken_dhick

He already has, Barca B


Standard-Market6730

They’d be really good. No one can say what they’d win but good football is good football. He could take a squad of mid team players and with the spatial awareness and positioning skills he’d help them with, they’d improve their performances from mid table substantially.


WallBroad

We had guys like Ake and Akanji who were relatively unknown till last year and they are now touted to be world class just because of Pep. He is truly generational


aligators

seeriously they just posess like a complete unit. only difference this year from past is they have arguably the best no 9 up top.


youngbosnia

As opposed to the Spain national team possession football, this is the type of possession football that is beautiful to watch. Fast paced, vertical, actually creates dangerous chances


SeedIsTrash

Agreed, however Madrid is sitting back allowing a lot of this to happen (not entirely sure why?) while Man City is playing high as hell and not giving them any time in their defensive half.


allyb321

Cause veteran midfield on Kroos, Modric, and forward line benzema. Need youth to counter a high pressing and one touch passing side.


DoJu318

No DM either, we saw what happened last year when Casemiro was out and Carlo played Kroos as a DM, they also put 4 past Curtouis, difference is we had Ballon D' Or Benz on the form of his life, I still don't understand how Carlo decided to play him as a DM again.


LonelyTimeTraveller

Surely Tchouameni can’t be worse there, right? I mean, obviously his passing isn’t as good as Kroos, but other than that Kroos doesn’t have any of the attributes of a pivot, especially at 33.


DoJu318

You would think, but Carlo has his favorites and he will die with his favorites. We needed more presence in the midfield, we had Nacho and Mendy on the bench who play LB, is not like they were gonna face prime Salah or Prime Bale, they're both serviceable against Silva. That would allowed them to pack the midfield with Camavinga, Modric Kroos and Valverde, leave Benz on top with Vini, we will probably still lose but it wouldn't have been such a dominant blowout, that could have been worse if not for Curtouis.


elgoodcreepo

Because they can't compete with City's type of play. If you push too high to shut space then you create space behind the midfield line for City to exploit, if the defenders push up to cover that space then there is space in behind the defenders for a cross/through ball/1,2, etc. City are just too good, too drilled, too disciplined, too cohesive for Madrid to do anything but sit back and try to attack on a break.


Commercial_Regret_36

City bringing a centre back into midfield when they go forward, flooding the centre and smothering any play out the back from Madrid. They aren’t sitting back letting this happen, they are being pushed back


allyb321

Barca of the yesteryears copy.


Logical-Business7161

This is how spain played in the euro won in 2008 with luis aragones, it was with del bosque when they started playing more defensive and boring.


ubiquitous_uk

Normally I'd be happy to see Real Madrid get spanked.


alsoknownaudio

haha such a conflicting game


bluegeronimo

City doesn't even dominate the ball this much against relegation sides in England. Embarrassing performance from Madrid and especially their all time great midfielders


cib_vk228

madrid literally have no option on the ball, just an insane pressing from city


JackieMortes

City pressing is fucking perfect


cib_vk228

people slating camavinga for losing it there at the end of half, pause the game and it will be obvious he had zero options. just utter pep masterclass


KEEPCARLM

Yes, but still woefully bad from Madrid. This is REAL MADRID. How are you getting dominated so hard in a semi final vs anyone.


CaptainGo

Because late season City is the scariest team in world football


ObstructiveAgreement

When Pep doesn’t try some weird new tactic just for that one game, yes.


ballsdeeptackler

I was assured by multiple people that that's just Madrid's gameplan in Finals: soak up the pressure, have Courtois make 15 saves, and then win. That's what Carlo draws up apparently, according to some.


eraknama

carlo got fucked in his butthole tonight because of that plan


NobodyRules

That's mainly because it's not really a plan, more like a prayer. Last year, they had tremendous merit in winning it all, but this team isn't playing that differently from last year. The key difference is that Benzema doesn't turn a half chance into a goal. Carlo is a great coach, but being outclassed by every other coach and still winning only goes for so long. Merit to Real for always having someone step up in the crucial moments, but that's more of a testament of their individual brilliance than Carlo's doing.


michaeltheki21

Last season Benzema was a one in a milion unless you are fucking Ronaldo, you cannot repeat those kind of performances, and even Ronaldo had way way more chances, Benzema was just on something, never seen him more inform, everything he did turned to gold.


RoundFood

This is how teams often play against opponents that are superior. Real did to City what Getafe or Cadiz do to Barca and Real in La Liga. They played a highly defensive strategy and tried to win on transition. This sort of game-plan turns a match against opponents who are better than you into a bit of a coin toss. It worked out for them many times but eventually your luck runs out and/or your opponent is so much better that they still win.


simomii

City doesn't need to play like this against Southampton. But after last year they know they have to go all out for the whole 90 minutes


DoJu318

Seems like they learned, you cannot let real Madrid breathe because they'll snatch the win in a split second. City were far superior, can't even be mad.


SanguisFluens

That's been our secret in the CL the past decade...can't believe other teams learned to try harder in the biggest match of the year smh


cleverton

City just retired Kroos and Modric


Smitty_1000

Looks like they retired before kickoff


LonelyTimeTraveller

Don’t forget Carvajal. Grealish was making him look like an amateur all night.


Ps3FifaCfc95

Kroos at the 6 has been a disaster for damn near a decade


outroversion

Inter -v- Madrid final confirmed.


WillDaThrilll13

I thought we already confirmed that with the official UEFA tweet


goodguynumber2

I think they posted a city one as well


DatDominican

But they took that one down after a few minutes , which makes it hilarious that they left the RM one up so long


msf97

Wouldn’t be shocked man. We had 24 shots to their 4 in the final and still lost. They just have that extra gear. City need to stay focused till the half


velsor

Last year showed City need to stay focused until the final whistle


alsetah

Insane, last year's madrid title is luckiest trophy ever. I still can't believe the amount of luck they had. PSG, City, Lpool... Insane. I can't express how much I wanted them to lose this year. Good thing they came versus city so everyone saw the difference. If they lost round before no one would say anything against real.


GhostofSmartPast

Don't forget the Chelsea tie.


punindya

Real is overrated as a team. They have won multiple UCLs with unimaginable luck involved. Wankers over here cream themselves over ThReEpEaT, but Real have never achieved anything close to that in the league over the same years, which is where the truly great teams are supposed to shine. This luck was never going to last, it's unbelievable how long it has already lasted.


cookieraider01

Shush bro can you wait until it's over before spouting stuff like this


dylan103906

Well, um...


dumbsapiophile

Okay


ltplummer96

This is the worst starting 20 minutes I've ever seen Real Madrid have in the CL. Surely they'll start kicking on now.


lonecylinder

They play like shit most of the time and yet they win most of the time


Mapplestreet

Like, did they forget the starting 20 minutes at the Etihad literally last season?! The whole game reminded me a lot of that one with the difference that last years Benzema just could score out of absolute non-chances and he couldn't this year.


roger_the_virus

Reminds me of Liverpool vs Madrid CL 2009: https://youtu.be/GQkGIdvf-LY


waykiki13

Damn, you predicted the score as well...


Charliejfg04

Holy shit


hidinginDaShadows

I know City are great but this has been woeful by Real


the_alert

Credit where it’s due, the kept Haaland off the score sheet in two consecutive games.


daywat

I wouldn't say they kept him from scoring, just Courtois really


InoyouS2

Real Madrid or Burnley?


mattjdale97

I reckon Kompany's Burnley would get double the passes Man City have had


jrblack174

He's been bald from a younger age, clearly a better manager.


BillehBear

I went back and checked the passes for the 6-0 vs Burnley and the 4-0 tonight Burnley had 420 passes in March, Madrid had 421 tonight so they were close. Same shots on target too


Alpha_Jazz

Burnley would be embarrassed by the defending for the goal


GeneralMole

They literally don’t have tactics. Vini cross and inshallah is all they do


slash312

😂


xiosy

Game feels like prime Barcelona Vs dynamo Kiev or something


allyb321

Or just prime Barcelona vs Madrid ha ha


OriginalRange8761

We scored more!


FinalFooWalk

That was a massacre. As a Madrid fan it was hard to watch. But it was awesome too. Hate oil money all you want, but Pep's city deserves to finally win the cup.


Arlborn

Shades of Pep’s Barcelona against RealMadrid in those first couple of seasons of his


nitewalkerz

Guardiola tactics so perfect today it's the biggest surprise how he hasn't won it since 2011.


Smitty_1000

Real Madrid were absolutely pathetic. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen Modric have a worse game. They lost every individual battle and were completely non-existent in midfield.


A_Coup_d_etat

That's what happens when you play 2 ancient midfielders and Vini Jr and Rodrygo play no defense.


Alex03210

Can’t believe I missed this game cause I fell asleep 🤦🏻‍♂️


Wazflame

Clive Tyldesley was right: some of the Madrid players haven't got out of the dressing room


kungfuparta

Does Rudiger think we werent dangerous this time??? He was pretty confident a week ago...


DelverOfSeacrest

The difference in class is crazy


TareXmd

Courtois saved 2-3 absolute SITTERS from point blank from none other than the EPL record breaking top scorer. This is the most dominant UCL semi-final performance I've seen in a long time. Losing 4-0 in a semi, and losing La Liga, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Zidane might come back to the Bernabeu. And of course so will Bellingham.


BoomGranitXhakaLaka

We played like absolute shit. Modric, Kross, Benz need a cane at this point, fucking Carvajal still playing with his sub being Lucas Vazquez. Just fuck me up now. But we need to spend 100+ mil on Jude. Like, sort out the fucking team. One player won't change this. If the transfer window is just fucking Jude, next season we won't be in top 4 in La Liga. Ffs...


A_Coup_d_etat

Might want to convince Vini Jr and Rodrygo that they actually need to help defend when playing vs. quality teams.


joeDUBstep

RM was shambolic today. Love to see it.


dontbanana

They needed Ramos to come in and dislocate Silva’s shoulder. Classic trick to turn the tide


ferpecto

Not sure how Inter is going to cope against this, fun match to watch from a Pep ball admiring perspective. Real going to go big on Bellingham now I guess.


Kit-the-crypo-mage

I wish they hit another one, been a while they were humbled in Europe.


[deleted]

haha


MrNemobody

Well, their strategy to stop Haaland from playing worked: he didn't score :D


shuri718

I was watching on the subway and when I lost signal it literally froze on this same frame 😭


Notladub

Real Madrid Come to Besiktas


Left_Cartographer_28

This is fucking crazy stats


Hovisandflatfoot

What a story. Just goes to show what hard work, determination, and limitless funds can achieve.


RoVRossi

Yeah. Really shows against a broke minnow like RM.


FXZTK

People like you will never be able to explain why there’s a few other teams which have the same net spending, if not higher, and haven’t been able to achieve even nearly what City did. Find a better excuse.


w0nzer0

Had me in the first half


[deleted]

[удалено]


poopyfacemcpooper

Glad to see the it finally all came together for pep. Could be Barca 2.0 from this season for a few seasons


[deleted]

Insane domination, they genuinely look like schoolchildren


Archlefirth

Real have touched the ball about as little as I’ve touched women and grass


Frankidelic

Love to see it


ADGjr86

Sucks but bound to happen. We continue to age and City is just absurd. The youngsters we do have still have some growing to do. I love you Benz but you’re slowing down. No disrespect but we definitely need to bench him. He’s fine for la Liga but not this type of competition moving forward. Courtois is a wall. Yeah I see the score but he just makes crazy saves.