Joe Hart believes Manchester City’s goalless draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday was a mere warm-up for the main battle next week. “We have the advantage of a large squad, and the younger players can show their face”, Ramos told reporters, according to AS, when asked about injuries in the team. “We want them to be back and we need to look day but day at how they develop medically”.
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“If you are going to have a draw at home, which is not a bad thing against Real Madrid, then 0-0 is the best result”, said Kompany.
Manuel Pellegrini says his Manchester City players do not fear a Champions League semi-final second leg at Real Madrid after a 0-0 first-leg draw at home.
Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane will wait until next Wednesday to determine Ronaldo’s availability for the crucial Champions League game against Manchester City. “Everyone knows the rivalry and it’s going to be an wonderful game and I’m confident we’ll come out on top”, the forward said.
City have reached the knockout stages in the last two seasons, but both times the tie was as good as over after the first leg as Barcelona won at the Etihad Stadium. “But we were not very creative, we couldn’t create clear chances to score”. We had the ball more in the second half and we had more chances after the break.
He said: “It’s a good achievement to get this far, not a great one”. “We have to take it day by day”, the Frenchman said. In the second half, the flow of the game changed, we were the ones calling the shots and constantly going in search of the goal, which unfortunately we didn’t manage to get’.
Pellegrini also claimed the injury suffered by David Silva in the first half was a turning point in the tie, Marcelo agreeing that the departure of the Spain global worked in Madrid’s favour.
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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is also a major doubt for the semifinal second leg after Madrid confirmed he is suffering from a hamstring strain.
