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.
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.
Roy Keane’s performance, especially after a booking that meant he would miss the final, was the best individual display I have seen by a player for an English team in European competition.
Steven Gerrard’s performance in the 2005 final for Liverpool against AC Milan runs it close. And I would put Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Barcelona and Lionel Messi at Anfield in 2019 to overhaul a 3-0 first-leg deficit at least on a par with what City did to Madrid, too.
The point is it was a privilege to watch them all and the fact we are talking about City’s dismantling of Madrid in the same breath shows just what a stellar show Pep Guardiola’s team put on.
There will be debates, too, about whether City are entitled to be called the best English team ever. The answer to that is more simple. Not yet. Let’s wait until they have actually won the Champions League. Let’s wait to see if they beat Inter Milan in Istanbul on June 10.
Even if that happens, it would be a stretch to say they are better than the Liverpool team of the late 1970s and early 1980s that featured Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen. Those three won the European Cup three times in seven years with Liverpool and dominated at home, too.
And what about the United team of 1998-99? They were dominant at home and won the Treble, too. And it is a bold claim to say City are better than the United side of the late 60s, a side that featured George Best, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Nobby Stiles and became the first English side to win the European Cup in 1968.
There are other caveats. City are a club now owned by a repressive state, Abu Dhabi, and bankrolled by that state, a situation that many feel stains the game and stains the Premier League, just as Saudi Arabia’s ownership of Newcastle United does.
This is a club that is facing 115 Premier League charges for alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules. City are contesting those vigorously and maintain their innocence but if they are found guilty, it will change everything.
So let’s wait. This City team fashioned by Guardiola appear to be a side who are just beginning to hit their stride. If Wednesday night was anything to go by, City will sweep Inter aside on June 10 and it will be just the first of many Champions League trophies.
There is no sense that what we are seeing at City on the pitch is the end of something. It feels more like the start.
And in a couple of years, if City keep doing what they did to Madrid, if they keep playing with the majesty of Wednesday night, if they win the Champions League once and then win it again, then the arguments that this is the best English team we have seen will gain more and more legitimacy.
Janelnptu
501
Liverpool and Manchester United won multiple European Trophies .... But they were not dominant against European Super Power.... United were humiliated by Barca many times when United were in their top... But City now dominating every big teams... See this year's City results against Big Boys... .... .... Vs United..........6-3 Vs Tottenham...4-2 Vs Liverpool......4-1 Vs Chelsea........4-0 Vs Arsenal.........4-1 Vs RBL...............7-0 Vs Bayern..........3-0 Vs Madrid..........4-0 .... Score Comparison....36-7 ... What is called the Domination!!!!?????
viddklpy
490
so 5 epl titles in 6 years and two finalists in UCL are not enough...
Jimmyswaggar
460
manchester United fans doesn't want Manchester city to win the treble because if they do Manchester city already have three consecutive EPL title and another treble in a single season something Manchester United manage to do in 10 yrs between 1998 to 2008 we Manchester city aren't backing off from creating our own very history
3Cassian3Caesar3
448
it is too early but we really on our way there. it's been an amazing journey so far. Blue side of Manchester for life💙💙💙
Samuelchrist24
364
Saturday Man City 3-0 Chelsea (PL title) Sunday June 3rd Man City 3-0 Man United ( FA Cup) Sunday June 10 Man City 3-0 Inter ( UCL Title) No surprise we used to it now.
eggosa91
359
For now man city is the best team in the world but in history is real Madrid no doubt 👌
truthisbitter
332
Jealousy have no medicine,for this writer to tell people to wait till city wins trophies shows already that this squad is the best in history, you can't compare an old car to a new improved car! Of all the previous English sides how many of them dominated Madrid like this?Give credit to whom it's due!!!
MadridSport
280
If you beat Madrid and Bayern, you deserve to be champion
rutbciknrt
265
Man City is the best team that is the reason you have brought your history team to compare with them no current team to compare with.
LM10NayeemLM10
236
It’s time for Man City to win the glorious UCL trophy 🏆. History will be written as it’s already written on the stars ⭐️.