Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter and get behind-the-scenes access and unrivalled insightJoin the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletterJoin the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletterThe Manchester City players have already taken in one message from Pep Guardiola, as they attempt what amounts to one of the greatest challenges in Champions League history. Bernardo Silva articulated some of it when he spoke on Monday before their last-16 second leg against Real Madrid.“With one goal, the atmosphere of the ground will change,” said the Portuguese. There is more to that comment than just an appeal to the crowd. The mythos of the Champions League remontada has now become so pronounced – to the point the Spanish name for grand comebacks has become commonplace – that there is a blueprint. open image in galleryChelsea went down 5-2 at PSG on the same night as Man City lost 3-0 to Real Madrid (Ben Whitley/PA)Three Premier League clubs will have to follow it over the next two days. You don’t go in looking at it as a 3-0 deficit, or whatever the scoreline is. You go in looking to score the first goal in the way you always would, albeit immersing yourself in the intensity of the occasion, knowing that would then make it a different game.It’s suddenly a two-goal lead rather than a three-goal lead, changing the pressure levels, too. Knowing to do that is one thing, though. Successfully acting on that knowledge is something else.The Champions League might have gone through an era of great comebacks over the last decade, but there’s a reason the odds are still so against you.There’s actually been no comeback from a three-goal first leg deficit since Liverpool’s momentous 4-0 win over Barcelona in 2019, not even from Madrid themselves.And of course, this isn’t just about City. Chelsea have the same challenge against Paris Saint-Germain, at 5-2 down, with Tottenham Hotspur also facing that scoreline against Atletico Madrid.Add in Liverpool’s 1-0 deficit to Galatasaray and the Premier League needs one grand remontada over the next two nights. Newcastle United are, meanwhile, likely to face a Barcelona onslaught as they take a 1-1 draw to Camp Nou, with Arsenal managing an awkward 1-1 at home to Bayer Leverkusen.The odds of more than half the teams going through don’t look good. There’s the potential for total wipeout.open image in galleryReal Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior share a laugh during a training…
Try WordAi Free
2026-03-17 11:41:32
