The true impact of Man City’s Rodri banner and what it revealed about Real Madrid | OneFootball

As soon as Vinicius Junior had Manchester City’s Rodri banner explained to him, his facial expression changed. He duly went and changed the first leg for Real Madrid, securing a 3-2 lead.

Given these super clubs are these days so obsessed with projection and image, for many different reasons, it is perhaps fitting that a mere banner has so influenced the tie.

The wonder is what Madrid themselves come up with, since giant tifos are organised for the ultra end for every major Champions League game. Famous last words, perhaps, but they are unlikely to think of anything like City’s.

That is because, to paraphrase the Don Draper line from the recent Mad Men meme, they don’t think about anyone else at all. No club is so abrasively self-assured, absolutely secure in the belief they are the centre of the game. Their own banners tend to project images of power and alpha bombast.

They can feature anything from kings to great white sharks, sometimes referencing the club’s great history, but never who they are presently facing. It will be telling if the Rodri banner tempts Madrid into something more mischievous, and would maybe represent a give-away.

This is otherwise the kind of aura that City have to overcome. That’s how the Bernabeu makes its team feel. City have of course been to the stadium five times in the last six years alone, but never in this situation. Pep Guardiola’s City have never had to travel there absolutely having to win to just stay in the competition.

It adds a new tactical complication, especially since the English champions have to score, while facing that counter-attack.

This is also where the tie takes on a greater football depth, that touches on some of the ideological differences between the teams and the managers. It is dogma against pragmatism; system against greater individualism.

Those contrasts just don’t necessarily sync up with the self-image of one of the clubs.

open image in gallery

(REUTERS)

Real Madrid the institution might not feel they need to think of anyone else, but the irony is that their coaching staff think about the opposition so much that they base their entire game on them. Everything that Carlo Ancelotti’s staff will come up with for Wednesday’s second leg will be a response to City’s approach rather than the Spanish champions playing it on their terms. It doesn't really feel like it matches with the club's bombast... until one of Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham or Kylian Mbappe get on the ball. This is what Ancelotti's layered approach facilitates.

The effectiveness of that may of course depend on City’s sense of self.

Saturday’s 4-0 win over Newcastle United was probably their most convincing performance of the season. It didn’t feel a coincidence that came with a proper holding midfielder finally sitting in the Rodri position. Even if Nico Gonzalez isn’t as good as his compatriot, and even if he were to be short of the top level, it just makes such a difference for Guardiola to have a player with that kind of tactical acumen there. The City manager and City's staff had obviously been aware of Gonzalez coming through the Barcelona system. They had looked at him before. Now they'll be looking to him to do an awful lot.

Gonzalez immediately fills some of the space that Madrid’s attackers will seek to pour into. That is a crucial rebalance, that is going to give Ancelotti more to think about it. The positioning will surely mean that Rico Lewis - or whoever the right-back is - isn’t left at the mercy of Vinicius in the same way.

open image in gallery

Jude Bellingham scored a stoppage-time winner as Real beat City 3-2 last week (PA Wire)

City’s January signings have also solved other issues, with Omar Marmoush bringing a badly-needed new intensity.

There are a few caveats to all of that, mind.

One is that there’s a fair argument Saturday was down to Newcastle’s strange fragility as much as City’s new conviction. Eddie Howe’s side were nowhere the level that knocked Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup. They key difference with City, mind, was that they were ready to capitalise.

That does feed into the second caveat, which is that Guardiola’s side have gone back and forth a few times this season. Since this bad run started in November, it is like they have never been able to build sufficient momentum.

Every time they look like they are getting it right, as in the recent 3-1 win over Chelsea, another opposition side makes sure to exploit existing weaknesses. It is why Gonzalez is so tactically important.

It is also why this Madrid match might be so key for the whole season as much as the Champions League.

Should they get through, there’s a sense of finally doing something substantial again, and not just treading water. Confidence will grow. That conviction will grow.

On the other side, Madrid have had vulnerabilities of their own. That’s why they’re in this play-off rather than the last 16. It could be a risk to play the kind of rearguard game that is expected from Ancelotti, especially if Guardiola opts for the direct balls that were so devastating against Newcastle. Although David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger are deemed fit to play this game, there’s a difference between fitness and readiness for such a challenge. They could be caught out.

open image in gallery

Erling Haaland reacts to Jude Bellingham’s late winner (REUTERS)

Then again, the presence of such senior players can be important for image, too.

It’s another reason why the centrality of banners and great signage is so fitting.

This match isn’t just about direct elimination, after all. Neither of these two wants to be the only big club to go out before the last 16.

The tie also comes amid much bigger stories, like City’s Premier League hearing, and Madrid’s ongoing battle with football’s establishment. As written here before the first leg, these are the new elite, who have been most served by the modern game… and yet they seem most willing to bring the system down.

Qualification is going to be crucial to their self-image, as much as that they project.