02:34:00
Manchester City cannot rely on their captain
Since joining Manchester City, Vincent Kompany has now suffered 33 different injuries - 14 of them calf problems. The Belgian lasted just nine minutes at the Bernabeu before collapsing as he attempted to stride forward, his face contorted in pain, and his City career must surely be in doubt, too. Kompany has been a magnificent servant, but it is becoming increasingly clear the club cannot rely on a player who is injured so often. Pep Guardiola is thought to be keen to make additions to his defence this summer, and a replacement for the captain will now – sadly – have to be on his shopping list.
City showed Madrid too much respect
The visitors seemed to be playing within themselves in the first half as they failed to put any pressure on Real Madrid when they had the ball. The opening goal was the perfect example as Dani Carvajal was given all the time in the world to pick a pass to Gareth Bale, who was also completely unmarked. Fernando attempted to get back, but could only succeed in deflecting the cross-shot in off the far post.
It summed up City’s strangely subdued approach as the opening 45 minutes passed them by, and was in direct contrast to Madrid, who hunted City down like a pack of dogs when in possession. Considering this was City's first ever Champions League Final you would have expected a far more aggressive approach to the game, but instead their players seemed content to sit off and allow the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos time and space. As a result they were fortunate to just be a single goal behind at half-time.
Yaya Toure’s time at the top is surely coming to an end
Toure was not the only reason City looked utterly lackadaisical but he certainly didn’t help. This was Toure at his worst, strolling around the pitch and showing no sign of getting involved in either defence or attack.
City needed the old Toure, the one who won games on his own and seemed a force of nature when the mood took him. Instead, they had a man who wasn’t able to support the overwhelmed defensive midfield, nor get forward to support the isolated Sergio Aguero.
When the 32-year-old was hauled off after an hour the only question was why it had taken Manuel Pellegrini so long to do so. As Guardiola considers the make up of his side for next season it is hard to imagine Toure – who the Spaniard sold while at Barcelona – being a part of it.
Man of the Match
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale may be the stars of this Real Madrid team, but Modric is the one that makes him tick. There seemed at times to be a forcefield around the Croat, with no City player able to lay a glove on him as he twisted, turned, passed and moved, setting the tempo and condemning the visitors to a slow death. The only blot on his copybook was a failure to score when Bale put him behind the City defence, but he was still far and away the best player on the pitch.
What they need to do now
Real Madrid
Prepare for everything Atletico Madrid have to throw at them in the final. Diego Simeone’s side will be looking for revenge after the cruel defeat they suffered when Atletico and Real met in the final two years ago – and after putting out Barcelona and Bayern Munich to get there Atletico will believe this is their time. Before then, Madrid still believe they have a chance of winning an incredibly tight three-way battle at the top of La Liga – raising the possibility that Zinedine Zidane could do the league and European Cup double within five months of his appointment.
Manchester City
Ensure they qualify for next season’s competition, which on current form is far from a given. Sunday’s game with Arsenal is huge now, and Arsene Wenger’s side will have high hopes of worsening the gloom around the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola did not sign up for a team that would be playing in the Europa League, but unless City buck up their ideas there is every chance that they could be overtaken by one of either Manchester United or West Ham.
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