Who would have predicted, after so many failures to get past the group stage that in his final term, Pellegrini would be in a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid and actually not be complete underdogs in the tie? To quote Fatboy Slim:
"We've come a long, long way together."
For Pellegrini to make his swansong ever more sweeter, his most dangerous player and the real game-changer in the team, Kevin De Freaking Bruyne will have be at his very best and define the team. City's chances of beating Madrid will come down to the Belgian, it's as simple as that. No offence to the talents of Silva, Toure or even Aguero; but it's all about De Bruyne. He is the one player that can win this game for City, just as he did against PSG. If Zidane is smart, he would have deducted that they need to do all in their power to take Kevin out of the game.
The thing to realise is this; without De Bruyne, Man City have approximately a 0% chance of beating Real Madrid over two legs. They just don't have the tactics, team or the player(s) to overcome a superior Madrid team in two matches. However, with De Bruyne in the team and if the match plays into the Belgian's hands then there is a very good chance that Man City can beat Madrid. Pellegrini, if he's smart, must be working late tonight figuring out how to create a scenario that allows De Bruyne to run this game
So what is this scenario?
De Bruyne does not have the close-quarters skill of Messi or Neymar, so if he comes up against a team that is very disciplined when defending and denies him space, then his influence in the game is diminished. He doesn't have the ability to meander his way through two or three defenders who surround him. It's just not the kind of player he is.
Blanc, for some reason, failed to get the memo and allowed De Bruyne to roam as free as a bird and PSG were rightly punished for it. Giving Kevin space is your death-note. He's a very effective and clever player like Muller who knows where to position himself and how to always apply the right pass. If you give any player space they can hurt you, except if its Falcao or Navas, but most players. There are a few though, who just use that freedom better than those and De Bruyne is a player who can either take the ball and score himself or apply the perfect pass to set up a G for a teammate.
What Pellegrini should hope for is Madrid play like how they usually do. Positive, attacking and thus leaving lots of space in defence. That plays right into De Bruyne's hands where Fernandinho or Fernando can put pressure in midfield on Modric to win the ball and quickly set off a counter. As long as that ball is constantly fed to De Bruyne on the counter, Man City will cause Madrid a lot of problems. And remember y'all, this isn't the defensively disciplined Mourinho Madrid who religiously kept their position right, it's the one that gives the opponent chances and enjoys a nice open game, focusing more on being open and attacking.
Tonight is the game that Man City have to lay down the gauntlet. Anything less than a two-goal victory, and they are going out. For them to have some nice cheddar to take to Madrid, they'll need De Bruyne to keep constantly attacking Madrid, delivering dangerous balls into the box for Aguero and using his smarts to drag the Madrid defense all over the pitch and maybe make this a crucial night for Man City in this tie.
Pellegrini needs De Freakin Bruyyyyyyyyyyyne to rise...like the Belgian Phoenix. HH
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