Champions League - Villarreal VS Manchester City: The goalkeeper comes from the sky, the championship contender is back

After the first 8 rounds of the Premier League, they ranked second with 16 points with 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, 3 points behind Arsenal, the leader. In the first 2 rounds of the Champions League, 1 win and 1 draw accumulated 4 points, ranking eighth in the standings and directly advancing to the knockout zone.

Manchester City's current results were unpredictable at the beginning of the season.

Last season, Manchester City had all four goals in the season and was eliminated from the Champions League knockout play-offs. Fortunately, it still retained its Champions League qualification. At the beginning of this season, they lost to Tottenham and Brighton one after another.

The change lies in the joining of Donnarumma.

This is actually similar to the end of Guardiola's first season at Manchester City. In the 2016-17 season, goalkeeper Bravo was a huge pit. At the end of the season, Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson was introduced, and Manchester City completed its transformation into a championship team.

The 26-year-old Donnarumma is definitely the top goalkeeper of this era. Because he could not ask for a high salary and was given up by Paris, Manchester City really found a treasure. The defensive strength has been greatly enhanced.

Manchester City's recent rapid progress has also benefited from the explosive form of top scorer Haaland. In the center position, the current level of Haaland is still higher than that of Aguero, who was at his peak back then.

Villarreal is on the rise in La Liga. It was no accident that they qualified for the Champions League last season with fifth place in La Liga (the same point as fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao). This season, the Yellow Submarine currently has 17 points from 9 games, 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses, ranking third in the La Liga standings, second only to Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, in the Champions League, with 1 draw and 1 loss in the first two rounds, it is difficult to say how far they can go.

Villarreal VS Manchester City

Nature of the match: Round 3 of the Champions League

Match time: 3:00 on September 22

At the pre-match press conference, Villarreal coach Marcelino responded to striving for his first win in the Champions League: "I think we all know that winning will be very important, and we have to fight for it. Villarreal always loses against Manchester City, and we hope to win this time. We must realize that it is very difficult and will require us to play our best game, but we are full of confidence and desire. This is the first step to win. "

Villarreal has 4 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses in the last 3 games in the Champions League and La Liga. A 2:2 draw with Juventus at home in the Champions League, a loss to Real Madrid in La Liga away from home, and a draw with Real Betis at home are not unacceptable.

In the first round of the Champions League, Villarreal lost to Tottenham 0:1 away from home. Obviously, in the Champions League, there is still a big gap between Villarreal and the top teams in the five major leagues.

Man City has 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in the past 10 games in all competitions. In the Champions League stage, Manchester City defeated Naples 2:0 at home in the first round and drew 2:2 with Monaco in the second round away game.

The two sides met twice in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2011-12 season. Villarreal was defeated by Manchester City at home and away.

In this battle, Villarreal may also be in trouble.