Manchester City are back in a Champions League final after two seasons; check out the players who were runners-up on 20/21
Not long ago, Manchester City played in a UEFA Champions League final. The last time this happened was in the 2020/21 season, when they ended up losing to Chelsea, 1-0, at Estádio do Dragão, in Portugal. Despite being a debutant in the finals, City were considered favorites on that occasion, but ended up being overcome. This year, the team arrives much more prepared, having already had the experience of playing in a European decision.
Since then, the team has not changed much. The coach remains the same, Pep Guardiola, who has been doing an excellent job at the head of the club and has already moved the team to a different level in European football, winning 13 titles in the last seven years. Winning the Champions League would be the “icing on the cake” to crown the work of the Catalan coach.
Now, within the four lines, eight of the 11 starters who played in the 20/21 final remain on the team. That squad was assembled with: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Ruben Dias and Zinchenko; Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Foden; Mahrez, De Bruyne and Sterling. During the match Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus and Agüero also entered, the three, in turn, have already left the club.
Today’s team has seven of these 11 athletes in its starting lineup, that is, the base of the team is the same, but it plays in a completely different formation and hired occasional reinforcements, which make the current team even better. Starting with the formation, which used to be a 4-3-3, with De Bruyne playing as a “center forward” or “false 9” and today it is a 3-2-4-1, with Erling Haaland, the best center forward today, as a reference on the front.
Foden and Mahrez remain in the team, but have given way to other players who were on the bench at the time, such as Aké (who takes the place of defender with Akanji, who arrived from Borussia Dortmund this season) and Rodri. Grealish and Haaland were also signed, two millionaire reinforcements that make a total difference in the current scheme.
Adding the experience of its players present in that fateful final, with the quality of the new reinforcements and the exceptional tactics assembled by Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have the perfect recipe to give Inter de Milião a lot of work in their second European final and are a strong candidate to conquer the ear for the first time in its history!
Source: sportbuzz
I am William Jackson and I have a passion for sports journalism. With over 3 years of experience in the industry, I have worked in a variety of roles to improve the quality and accuracy of sports news coverage. As an author at Athletistic, I specialize in covering football news and providing comprehensive analysis for fans around the world.
