Real Madrid left Erling Haaland marooned and picked off an unbalanced Manchester City in the Champions League
P
ep Guardiola’s wry and serial observation is that only victory makes the head coach appear a sage of the tactical battle. If defeat is endured then, fair or not, it is open season on the man who lives and dies by results.
Cut to Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League last-16 hammering of Manchester City by Real Madrid and Álvaro Arbeloa emanated a seer-like cool in the post-first leg briefings, while Guardiola was forced into explaining why he sent out a 4-2-2-2 that crumpled so easily before Federico Valverde, who scored a memorable first-half, 22-minute hat-trick.
This was a question of personnel rather than shape. You could see the Catalan’s thinking in overloading with three wingers in Savinho, Antoine Semenyo, who partnered Erling Haaland in attack, and Jérémy Doku: go at Real with pace, particularly along Trent Alexander-Arnold’s right-back flank, reach the byline and pop crosses over for the Norwegian to score.
