Champions League: At the pinnacle of the Champions League, Manchester City take on Real Madrid and AC Milan take on Inter Milan in the semi-final stage. Champions League invincibles Real Madrid are locked on power with destructive Man City. On the other hand, double derby matches where AC Milan and Inter Milan lock horns to prove who’s the better team in the town. Renowned coach Ashley Westwood has chosen his favourites – Man City and AC Milan to progress to the final. Follow Champions League LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Real Madrid vs Manchester City
Real Madrid are in not in their best form in the domestic league, La Liga, which could be concerning as the Champions League semi-final nears. However, it also indicates that they are more concentrated in the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League. They have shown time and again that they can be invincible in the Champions League. They can win the Champions League title regardless of their performance in any other competition.
However, Man City with Pep Guardiola’s tactics and Erling Haaland’s scoring abilities have been in an absolute destructive form. They have been on a 19-match unbeaten streak with one hand on the Premier League title. They are now chasing the coveted treble this season. As renowned coach Ashley Westwood was asked about the odds, he said, “It’s gonna be a good match, but I expect Manchester City to win.“
Both teams have excellent offensive players, so he added, “Guardiola will be well aware of the threats of Real Madrid… You know, he has been playing three in the back in the Champions League, but that would be risky to play three against three. So I think he may have to go to four… Ancelotti will be aware of the great threats that Manchester City possess and they will also trying to be coming up for a plan. So they’re both good at attacking. Whoever defends the best for me, we should go through.”
AC Milan vs Inter Milan
AC Milan and Inter Milan were matched with the same points in Serie A until Milan dropped the ball in their last league match. Milan drew against Cremonese and now they are two points behind Inter in the Serie A table. Two sides met thrice already this year and Inter won twice. However, Milan have a much greater history in the Champions League. Similar to Real Madrid, they also seem to have lady luck on their side in the Champions League.
When asked about his views on this match, coach Westwood said, “I think AC Milan [will win]. I think the reason why they’re gonna do well, you know, Brahim Diaz, on the right-hand side is a threat. Leao like I’ve mentioned… I think they’re just edgy. They are good attacking players that I’ve mentioned. But also they can defend with fantastic resilience.” He added, “That’s phenomenal if you think of the teams they’ve played and the clean sheets they’ve kept it was five clean sheets.”
Watch the LIVE coverage of UEFA Champions League 2022/23: Semi Final (leg 1) – Real Madrid vs Man City and Milan vs Inter on Sony Sports Ten 2, Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) & Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels at 12:30 am IST on 10th & 11th May 2023
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