In early April, Real Madrid centre-back Antonio Rudiger was asked in a press conference about his toughest opponent. The interviewer insisted that it must surely be Erling Haaland, the Ballon d’Or contending presence who tore up the Premier League last season. Rudiger, though, brushed that notion off.
“Haaland was definitely one of the strongest, but if I could say one who was very tough, it would be Kun Aguero,” he responded.
Rudiger’s comments are, of course, warranted. Aguero was the razor-sharp edge of City’s pre-Haaland era, a striker who scored 260 goals for the reigning Premier League champions, including 184 in the English top-flight. But Haaland, we are led to believe, is of another level. Bigger, stronger and faster than the tricky Argentine, Haaland was the striker that no one could quite figure out how to stop.
Glaring omission
The Catalan coach’s prediction proved to be right, in part because of a rare selection slip from his opposite number. Ancelotti is famous for his man-management and squad set-up, but against City at the Etihad last season, he made once crucial error, as he ignored Rudiger’s star showing in the first leg of the semi-final, and instead started brought Militao back in to partner Alaba. It proved to be a costly error, as while Haaland didn’t score that day, he wasn’t forced into anonymity, either.
Bernardo Silva grabbed the headlines with a scintillating double as the Madrid defensive structure crumbled without the man who had so comfortably marshalled the Premier League’s top scorer in the first leg. City were dominant that day, and Rudiger’s presence perhaps wouldn’t have prevented the onslaught of a 4-0 win. Still, it was an error that contributed to one of the worst nights in recent Real Madrid memory.
