Even though Manchester City will be the favourites at the Etihad Stadium, Real Madrid can never be taken lightly in this tie.
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Manchester City and Real Madrid are set to entertain the supporters in a hugely anticipated second leg of the Champions League semi-final. Both heavyweights were labelled as the favourites to win the competition this year. However, they were drawn together in the semi-final stage itself, meaning only one of them can reach the final. In the first leg that happened last week in Spain, Manchester City came from behind to get a 1-1 draw. That draw away from home could act as a motivator to help them get the job done in the second leg at home.
Even though Manchester City will be the favourites at the Etihad Stadium, Real Madrid can never be taken lightly in this tie. They have a massive history in this competition and can never be taken for granted by any side. Ahead of the highly-anticipated second leg tie, Man City manager Pep Guardiola gave a squad update. He informed that centre-back Nathan Ake, who can also play as a left-back, will miss the tie. “Except Nathan, everyone is fit,” Guardiola was quoted as saying by the club’s website.
Pep Guardiola then turned his attention to the supporters and what kind of atmosphere could be expected for this tie. “I know they’ll be close to us because they know what this team has done over the last years. They will not leave us alone, I’m pretty sure. In the bad moments they will be with us and in the good they will put us first. The way to put the pressure on our opponents is on our game. We play 11 versus 11 and our game will dictate what you have to do to reach the final. But of course in the bad moments they are there and will be there,” he elaborated.
The Manchester City manager also said that emotions will be high for a Champions League match of this magnitude, however, he feels this might not be enough against the Spanish giants. He also wants to make certain adjustments to help his side create more opportunities. “The emotion is there and the emotion will be high, it has to be high in these games. But just this is not going to beat a team like Real Madrid. We have a gameplan and we have to execute it a little bit better than we did it in the first leg,” he added.
“We have to adjust something, we have to do it a little better to create more chances for our strikers and our people up front – get more balls in these positions, knowing that the transitions, the ball possession and the quality that they have in all departments is really high. It could not be any different, we’re playing against Real Madrid in the semi-final of the Champions League, we expect the toughest opponents we can face right now in the last few years. This is the challenge, we embrace it, we get it and go for it.”
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