Real Madrid make strange last-minute request ahead of Man City clash; UEFA grant approval: Reports
Real Madrid have made a strange last-minute request to UEFA ahead of their Champions League match against Manchester City. They have asked the governing body to grant approval for closing the roof of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the match.
Both sides are set to continue their push for continental glory with their first-leg quarterfinal meeting in Madrid. Los Blancos are seeking their 15th trophy of the competition, while the Cityzens are the reigning champions and will be looking to go all the way to win it for the second consecutive time.
According to Marca (via Sport Bible), the odd request about the stadium roof is Madrid's plan to create a "cauldron-like atmosphere" that might tip the scales in their favor. The report adds that UEFA has accepted the request. Los Blancos are no strangers to this tactic, which they have already used against RB Leipzig.
The last time both clubs met, Manchester City handed Real Madrid a 4-0 drubbing at the Etihad Stadium in the semi-finals of the competition last season. Bernardo Silva scored a double on the night to put the Cityzens ahead on aggregate, and then the win was cemented with an effort from Manuel Akanji and a late Julian Alvarez goal.
Ancelotti pushes Real Madrid players to show improvement ahead of Manchester City clash
Real Madrid were knocked out last year by the Cityzens, and this time around, manager Carlo Ancelotti is looking for a response. Speaking to the press ahead of their clash, he pointed out their past semi-final loss, stating (via GOAL):
"We played without courage and without personality. It is fundamental in these games. There was a lack of that in the return leg. We didn’t manage things in the best way, it wasn’t just a lack of mental character, it was also that we lacked technical quality, they pressed us very high, and they sought us out, and we didn’t find alternative solutions to that."
The manager continued:
"Obviously that’s something we want to improve this time round. e have different characteristics with the ball, we had [Karim] Benzema last year, he was a reference, and now we don’t have him. We have handled this absence with more mobility on the attacking front. And that will be important, not fixing the forward positions."
Real Madrid have made considerable adjustments to their roster and tactics since that defeat in an effort to improve on previous performance issues. One significant change has been the addition of Jude Bellingham, whose emergence as a goalscoring midfielder has changed the team's conventional 4-3-3 formation.