Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane has played down suggestions that Manchester City failed to perform in the Champions League semi-final second leg. “In a semi-final you always have to suffer, but we’ve achieved our place in the final”, said Zidane.
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Captain Vincent Kompany was content with that result and the fact City did not concede an away goal was a plus for them – but I just can not see anything other than a Real victory when these two teams clash at the Bernabeu.
This is the first time that Manchester City have made it this far in the Champions League, and they’re well aware of the fact that they could very well come out with a win against Los Merengues even though it seems like a hard task. We could easily be in the final.
Hart said: “We turned up to win the game, we turn up to win every single game”.
Last week, Real Madrid was itself and it was obvious that they were playing a more defensive game in search of a draw.
Atletico Madrid went up against one of the most dominant forces in world football today, and they came out on top due to their belief and hard work.
“It was a tough game, but I think we played better than City”, he remarked. “They were very lucky with the goal, a deflection into the top corner”.
Brazilian midfielder Fernando’s first-half own goal was the only difference between the sides over two legs as Real set up a repeat of the 2014 final against local rivals Atletico Madrid in Milan on May 28. We’ve eliminated a huge team in City. Atletico, which eliminated five-time champion Bayern Munich on Tuesday, will be trying to avenge the 4-1 loss from two years ago as it bids for its first title.
However, Pellegrini admitted City hadn’t created almost enough to merit a place in the final.
He noted: “Great matches are decided by the best, but we have to play as a team defensively and offensively against Real Madrid”. The Portuguese global is Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer and has 47 goals in all competitions this season.
By contrast, City were dealt a massive injury blow inside 10 minutes when captain Vincent Kompany was forced off once more with a muscle problem in an injury-disrupted campaign.
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Goalkeeper Joe Hart defended City’s approach, saying: ‘We can’t be bothered by criticism.
