sport news Man City: It's too early to call them the greatest - but they're on their way, ... trends now
It was the totality of Manchester City’s domination of Real Madrid on Wednesday night that was so startling. It has been called a masterclass but it was more humbling than a masterclass. It was more like a school detention.
Some of the best players in the world, two Ballon d’Or winners among them, were told to sit down and shut up and watch how the grown-ups did it. And they had no choice but to obey. And they remained mute while City put on a stunning exhibition of football.
It is easy to dismiss Madrid now and say their players have grown old together but that is not true. Vinicius Junior was being widely hailed as the best player in the world after the first leg last week. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are still two of the most technically gifted midfielders on the planet.
And yet, in the first half, none of them could get a kick. City either kept the ball too well or won it back too well. However technically gifted Modric and Kroos are, City’s pressing was just too clever, too urgent and too well organised.
When City had the ball, they were equally devastating. Bernardo Silva was a blur of intelligent movement, Jack Grealish tormented the Madrid defence every time he had the ball, John Stones looked like the most technically accomplished player on the pitch, Kyle Walker put Vinicius in his back pocket and kept him there.
It is too early to label Pep Guardiola's Manchester City as the greatest English side ever
Guardiola's men appear to be a side who are just beginning to hit their peak
To be inside the Etihad on Wednesday night was to be in awe of what City were doing. Madrid are the Champions League holders and yet City were manifestly on a different level from them. They were so good, it was easy to feel embarrassed for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
It is right to reach for superlatives, given the magnitude of the occasion and the beauty of City’s football but it is also reasonable to be wary of falling into the trap of acclaiming a performance as the best we have seen just because it is the most recent and its brilliance is fresh in our minds.
The best performance by an English team in Europe that I have witnessed live was Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Juventus in Turin in 1999, also a Champions League semi-final second leg.
