*Tuttosport* interviewed several Italian football legends for their opinions on this knockout round.

Juventus coach Allegri believes that Manchester City is a tough opponent. The current Manchester City is performing more and more steadily, and is the most aggressive team in the Premier League. More importantly, their defense is now extremely stable.

Fortunately, however, Sané and Kyle Walker are unable to play, which greatly reduces their options in attack and creates significant loopholes in defense.

"Zhao is indeed an extremely talented player, and his talent is the best I have ever seen in a player.

He is extremely aggressive and can operate in any position in the frontcourt and midfield, and can play well in all of them.

He is not only an excellent organizer, but also extremely good at finishing. He is almost one of a kind.

Manchester City has risen more than one level with him.

This is a good thing for Manchester City, but not so friendly for us.

But we have always been the top defensive team in Europe, and this is the tradition of Italian football.

I believe my players will do their best to stop him.

This will be an extremely difficult away game, but we have come this far, and no team can stop us from continuing."

Arrigo Sacchi, a legend of Italian football, was named the world's top 100 coaches by *France Football*, ahead of even Ferguson.

He shared his views in an interview with *Tuttosport*.

"Juventus has won the Serie A title for several years in a row, and the competitiveness of Serie A has declined too much now.

I am very worried about the future development of Italian football.

The good news is that Juventus has always been competitive in the Champions League. They were able to reach the final last season and played back and forth with Barcelona.

If Juventus and Manchester City were in the same league, Juventus would definitely not be able to compete with the current Manchester City for the league title.

But this is the Champions League. Juventus is very experienced, while Manchester City is slightly lacking. They were almost overturned by Monaco.

This kind of knockout round is full of accidents and coincidences. I am certainly more optimistic that Juventus can enter the top four. Juventus's opponent will be Barcelona, who defeated Dortmund.

As for Zhao? He is indeed good enough, and he has redefined the way a midfielder and forward plays. This may be another football revolution.

Of course, football is a team sport with eleven players, and it will be difficult for him to break through Juventus's defense."

*Tuttosport* finally summarized the situations of both sides.

Manchester City has already won the league title in advance, and their energy will be completely focused on the Champions League, but their schedule is not very favorable. The previous league and FA Cup matches have taken a lot of their energy.

Moreover, their new winter signings cannot play. Guardiola's new 3-4-3 formation is still being fine-tuned, and it will be even more difficult to play effectively without Kyle Walker. Guardiola will most likely still use a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation.

Although Juventus has not won the league title in advance, it is not a big problem, so they are preparing for the Champions League without any pressure.

Juventus's defense is tough and persistent, and Manchester City's attack may not be able to fully function.

The most important point is, as Arrigo Sacchi said, Manchester City has too little Champions League experience. Their best result is the Champions League quarter-finals. The semi-finals seem to be a hurdle for them.

Manchester City's players lack too much experience compared to Juventus's old foxes.

It is very likely that they will choke at a critical moment.

*Tuttosport*'s report represents the views of most Italian media and fans.

Juventus will have a difficult game against Manchester City, but they will advance with their defense and experience!

Of course, the English media is also creating momentum like crazy.

In recent years, the football markets of English football and Italian football have been completely different. One's market value has been soaring, while the other is about to fall out of the top five European leagues.

But the European war results of these two leagues are really like brothers in trouble.

Italian football is getting worse due to capital reasons, which has led to a slump in European competitions, while the English league is suffering due to the fierce competition, which has dragged down the European war results of the wealthy teams.

Now, in the Champions League quarter-finals, only Manchester City is left as a lone survivor.

Exactly the same as last season!

Therefore, the English media, no matter how much they usually want Manchester City to lose, are now united against foreign enemies.

"Manchester City is about to break the Champions League curse and achieve a historic breakthrough!"

"Guardiola's transformation of Manchester City has been successful, and advancing to the semi-finals is not their ultimate goal!"

"Super Zhao will tear apart Italy's steel defense!"

"Invincible in the league, rampaging in the Champions League!"

Even the hard-mouthed Manchester United legends were extremely optimistic when facing reporters, believing that Manchester City would carry the glory of English football, defeat Juventus, and make a historic entry into the semi-finals!

"They will enter the semi-finals and face Barcelona, who eliminated them last season. It's that simple."

The Italian media and the English media have very different views on this game, but they have surprisingly consistent views on the other game in the same half.

They all think Dortmund is finished.

Three hours before the game, Manchester City held a pre-match press conference, and Guardiola announced the squad and confirmed the starting lineup for this game.

When reporters asked Guardiola how he viewed this game, Guardiola's words were very simple.

"Yes, the Champions League is difficult, but we are really strong now, aren't we?

We really have no other thoughts except winning."

Guardiola's press conference was not as relaxed as before. He didn't joke with reporters, and he didn't have his usual humility and low profile.

He was nothing like his former self.

Because he is really under pressure for this knockout round, and he is really afraid of losing.

Manchester City has never advanced to the semi-finals, and it really seems like a curse.

No matter how many people Manchester City buys, no matter how they beat Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, and all other opponents in the Premier League.

They just can't break through in the Champions League.

The Champions League knockout round always puts some pressure on Manchester City's players.

On the other side, Allegri also accepted an interview.

"As I said before, Zhao is very creative and imaginative, and Manchester City is very strong, but we have thought of ways to limit them. The game will be difficult, but we will take away a victory."

On the evening of April 11, the Etihad Stadium was already packed with people.

In the past, Manchester City's repeated failures in the Champions League had become a pain in the hearts and a nightmare in the minds of Manchester City fans.

But now, Manchester City has won the league title in advance, creating the fastest title win record in the Premier League!

The entire team's combat power is off the charts.

The entire season has allowed all fans to witness a crazy and invincible Manchester City!

Manchester City fans are full of confidence, and there is another important reason. The team's core, who likes to assist teammates in the league and leads the assist charts by a wide margin, seems like a different person in the Champions League.

He has given "only" four assists, but has scored nineteen goals!

Nineteen goals in seven Champions League games broke the record of Cristiano Ronaldo, the King of the Champions League, averaging 2.7 goals per game. This efficiency is unique in the entire history of the Champions League.

Zhao Gang's habitual outbreak in the Champions League has become the most trusted existence for Manchester City fans.

Champions League!

Manchester City will inevitably achieve a historic breakthrough under the leadership of Zhao Gang!

This is the consensus of all Manchester City fans.

In Longguo, the central media has the broadcast rights to the Champions League, and naturally gave extremely high-level coverage to this focus battle.

Not only did they analyze the history of the two teams during prime time, but they also reviewed the glorious journey of Manchester City throughout the season.

One hour before the game, the guests were already in place, starting to analyze the starting lineups announced by the two coaches, and starting to analyze the chances of winning for both sides from different dimensions.

"Juventus's record was not strong at the beginning of the season, and there were even four consecutive rounds without a win, but as the season deepened, their performance gradually returned to the right track, and they will basically win the league this season.

And their performance in the Champions League has been as stable as ever. They finished first in the group stage and shut out the Greek powerhouse Olympiacos in the knockout round with four goals, showing a very efficient offensive level and stable defense.

On the Manchester City side, they have already won the league title in advance, and their current goal is definitely the Champions League. They have invested heavily every year, but they have always been unable to enter the Champions League semi-finals, and their results are lamentable.

There is no need to say more about their offensive power this season. They have scored ninety-one goals in thirty-two league games, averaging nearly three goals per game! How terrifying is this data?

There should not be too many problems on the offensive end. The only thing that is worrying is the defensive end. Kyle Walker cannot play, and the long-standing problem on the wing has not been solved.

However, Kompany's timely return has given Guardiola another card."

More and more viewers are watching TV, and a considerable portion of fans are also watching the game online.

The comment sections of portal websites and the bullet screens of live broadcasts are lively.

"Juventus is doomed! The current Manchester City is too unsolvable. The control of the midfield, De Bruyne's assist count has not grown much, but his ability has improved a lot. David Silva has not declined yet, and Zhao Gang's impact is unstoppable.

How can Juventus play?"

"Juventus is going to be bloodbathed!"

"Juventus's defense has always been very strong, but the age of the back line is a bit old. When they encounter Aguero, Zhao Gang, Sterling and other players with extremely high explosiveness and strong finishing ability, their old arms and legs are probably going to have a hard time."

"Hey, Juventus fans don't even have a good opinion of Juventus! It's going to be bad..."

"Juventus has a balanced attack and defense. They are the Serie A champions and reached the final last season! How could they be so不堪?" (unable to bear, pathetic)

"That's right, can you Zhao Gang fans be a little more rational? You will only attract criticism for Zhao Gang, understand?"

"It's a team sport with eleven players! Do you understand football?"

"Manchester City was almost overturned by Monaco, a Ligue 1 team. They have always been a younger brother in the Champions League. How can they play Juventus?"

"If it weren't for Monaco's lack of experience, a group of young people who didn't listen to the coach's instructions and played blindly on the field, Monaco would be facing Juventus now!"

"Why are there so many Juventus fans all of a sudden?"

"These are not Juventus fans, they just can't stand you bragging about Manchester City and Zhao Gang so much."

"Damn it, I'm just telling the truth, how is that bragging? It sounds like bragging, but reality is even more magical!"

"Juventus has two Champions League trophies, Manchester City's best result is the quarter-finals. That's the difference between a rich team and a nouveau riche."

"I just hate Manchester City and Guardiola. What was Zhao Gang thinking, joining Manchester City? I'm unfollowing him!"

"Get lost, we don't need you!"

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere, I'm just watching and cursing, what can you do?"

…

The media and fans have already hyped up the game before it even started. Manchester City fans and Juventus fans are already eagerly awaiting the game.

They are all waiting for their team to put on a brilliant performance and shatter the opponent's Champions League dream!

The players, on the other hand, need to calm down. Once their mentality is wrong, the pace of the game may change.

This is the Champions League quarter-final knockout round, and the opponent will seize every mistake and inflict a devastating blow.

Manchester City players thought they would easily win and advance against Monaco, but reality slapped them hard in the face.

They almost capsized in the gutter, and it was in their home game where they were sure of victory.

Therefore, Manchester City players are particularly cautious and prudent in this knockout round.

They must not give the more experienced Juventus any chance.

Guardiola did not want to put pressure on the players. He himself was under a lot of pressure, and he knew the state of these players even better.

So, in addition to emphasizing tactics, he let the players relax and not be too nervous.

Making mistakes is not terrible, and missing opportunities is not a problem. The important thing is to play in their own style.

The players from both sides stood in the player tunnel, and many players were closing their eyes and making the sign of the cross to pray.

Zhao Gang looked around. He didn't have much feeling for these rituals.

Of course, he respects every normal culture.

When the players from both sides entered the field, the stadium DJ introduced the players from both sides through the broadcast.

Juventus players were long used to this kind of away atmosphere. They were used to the boos. They were quite surprised that there were no boos at the Etihad.

In addition, that Longguo kid really got the fierce love of the entire Etihad fans.

It was really not easy to reach such a sea of ​​cheering voices in just one season.

The players from both sides stood in their positions, and the referee's whistle sounded.

The first leg of the Champions League quarter-final officially kicked off.