Fernando admits Manchester City are feeling the weight of history as they prepare for the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
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The aggressive style preached by Rayo coach Paco Jemez built the two-goal lead but it backfired when Bale pounced on Embarba’s risky pass. When he greeted the Champions League draw with relief and said Real Madrid were the team he wanted to play, it was not because he still holds a grudge against his former employers, nor because he was glad to have escaped a direct confrontation with Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich.
Real are third in La Liga, one point behind Atletico Madrid and leaders Barcelona, after winning their last eight league games.
David Silva played 57 minutes on his return from an ankle injury, and Pellegrini also took off Fernando as a precaution after the Brazilian felt discomfort in his knee.
“I was upset not to win the title, of course”. I realised after just a few games that I would only be getting one season. I am still happy to have had the honour of managing Real Madrid, regardless of how it turned out. “I would not like anyone to think I am still wounded and I do not wish to appear bitter”. “We needed him today and he performed really well”.
City beat Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals to move into the last four of Europe’s premier competition for the first time, and will host the team who has reached this stage more than any other side (27) in the first leg on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old, who now has five league goals in just four starts this season, looks to have a bright future and is in City’s Champions League squad after replacing the injured Samir Nasri ahead of the knock-out rounds. “I knew all about him from playing Manchester United when I was at Villarreal”.
“We are focused and doing well, on a good run”.
However, the two-time Premier League Players’ Player of the Year’s admiration for the English game remains and he is keen to make an impact in his first match on English soil since swapping White Hart Lane for the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Pellegrini has already been in a Champions League semi-final. “It is time to accept that Bale has found a higher level”. “It feels different”, he says. “It’s incredible”, smiles Bale of the fans’ obsession with the Champions League, of the club’s annual mission. “He has a very important contribution, and not just for this game”, Pellegrini said. “Kelechi will have an important role in this club in the next years”.
