Casemiro's play will be crucial for Real Madrid in the upcoming Champions League second leg! In the face of City's furious offense, the back position must be as solid as a fortress!
Ancelotti confessed after the game: without Casemiro, our defense is full of holes.
Back at the familiar Bernabeu, the hosts are expected to turn things around, and a one-goal difference is nothing.
Without the restriction of away goals, Real Madrid didn't choose to be conservative, and after conceding two goals, they instead went on the offensive, scoring three times in a row.
City won by a goal, but weaknesses in the defense were exposed.
Real Madrid also got a taste of counterattacks on the road and managed to find a weak link in their opponent's backline.
The return of Casemiro will be a killer for Real Madrid to turn the game around and perhaps bring Modric back to strengthen the defense.
Stabilizing the back line and reducing the number of goals conceded has become a pressing need for Real Madrid.
City's powerful attack must be contained effectively, by sensibly recycling and closing down space to make passing the ball more difficult for City players.
Manchester City specializes in passing and technical finesse, but Real Madrid has been playing against La Liga teams for a long time and is not afraid of this style.
As long as they do a good job of intercepting and blocking and compressing the opponent's space to move, City will be in a similarly hard battle.
Look for Carlo Ancelotti to make a breakthrough at home, and the key to who advances will be who can control the defense better.
