We will have to work hard and suffer from the first minute to the 90th minute”, he warned, saying the plan was to “pressure high up the field and to play with intensity. “At the Etihad they were very defensively minded, the full backs didn’t get forward”. We are in good form, but our aim is to do everything possible and try and go through.
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They’ve had a bit of luck in terms of staying injury-free and suspension-free for the most part, but overall, individually and collectively, Leicester have been the best team and are worthy champions.
Pellegrini, meanwhile, admitted that club captain Vincent Kompany will be assessed in Manchester on Thursday after limping out of the game after just six minutes with an apparent groin strain.
“It is not the best thing changing a defender very early but I don’t think we had any problems in defense”, said Pellegrini, who will be replaced by Bayern’s current coach Pep Guardiola next season. But we were not creative enough to damage them.
“It doesn’t matter who scores or whether it’s an own goal or not”, he added.
The England number one told BT Sport Europe: “We could easily have been in the final”.
The Frenchman would not be drawn on whether his side would now be expected to win against Atletico, stressing: “There are no favourites – it is a final”.
Last week, Real Madrid was itself and it was obvious that they were playing a more defensive game in search of a draw. “We’ve won a few domestic titles in the last four years, but it is for the history of the club and to do it we must play a very good game”.
Ronaldo missed the first leg with a thigh injury and his fitness has been the subject of much speculation since.
“People had doubts about me, I don’t know why people forget that sometimes I recover fast”.
“We are not happy, but I don’t think we deserved to compete the final”.
Real Madrid will play against Atletico Madrid at Giuseppe Meazza – otherwise known as San Siro – in the 2016 UEFA Champions League final in Milan, Italy on May 28.
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And the Chilean refuted suggestions City will be extra motivated by the dismissive attitude towards City’s chances of reaching the final in the Spanish press in recent days.
