Manchester City are hoping for a special win against Real Madrid when they clash in Tuesday night’s Champions League first leg play off at the Etihad Stadium.
It is a match that will see two Europe’s finest sides and winners of the Champions League over the past three seasons try to assure their followers they still have something in their Armour. Both teams have struggled for results this season in the competition and are eager to qualify into the round of 16.
Speaking ahead of the match City Coach Pep Guardiola urged his players to come up with something special if they are hopeful of overwhelming Real Madrid.
“We are where we are, and I know perfectly but the team has something special and hopefully tomorrow we can prove it,” Guardiola declared.
“I will not deny how I trust with the players who gave us that incredible decade, winning a lot of things and playing a high standard, I know what we are capable of.
“To be honest it is always better to have a second leg at home in case you have extra time with your people.
“We play the second game away because we were not good in the group stage – when you finish 22nd you cannot ask for any favours.”
Real Madrid edged a dramatic semi-final win 6-5 on aggregate in May 2022 and also overcame Guardiola’s side 4-3 on penalties last season at the quarter-final stage after the sides had fought out a dramatic 4-4 draw over the two legs.
In-between, however, City recorded a famous 5-1 semi-final aggregate win in 2023 en-route to a historic Treble.
“We won four, draw five lost three, so in recent times maybe, but in terms of history of Champions League history we cannot compare to Madrid, Milan, Bayern Munich.
