The second leg between Real Madrid and Manchester City could be decided by the two top strikers Haaland and Benzema.

The second leg between Manchester City and Real Madrid will decide who follows Inter Milan into the Champions League final

The first leg of the semi-final encounter, which many see as an early final of the competition, ended 1-1 and City coach Pep Guardiola, who last won the top flight as Barcelona coach in 2011, will also rely on his top striker Erling Haaland.

Haaland on the hunt for a record
He has already managed 12 goals in nine games this Champions League season and has already set a new Premier League record with 36 goals in his first season in England. “He is unbelievable. He’s only 22,” Guardiola enthused about his goalscorer.

In the first leg, however, Haaland had remained inconspicuous, which was certainly also due to the Madrilenians’ defence. Nevertheless, the Norwegian international gave Real coach Ancelotti a headache ahead of the second leg.

“We know these kind of match days well, and on this day of course worries come up, you think. You wonder if Haaland will score, if Kevin de Bruyne will hurt us. You have to think about the positive things and not the negative things,” Ancelotti told a press conference ahead of the crucial encounter.

Can Benzema repeat his performance from last year?
Defending champions Real Madrid, however, can rely on a top striker of their own. The 35-year-old Karim Benzema knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League semi-finals last year with three goals. It remains to be seen whether he can achieve something similar this year.