Tuesday, 26 April 2016
Home »
» THERE WILL BE NO STAGE FREIGHT WHEN MANCHESTER CITY LAND IN MADRID SAYS PELLEGRINI
THERE WILL BE NO STAGE FREIGHT WHEN MANCHESTER CITY LAND IN MADRID SAYS PELLEGRINI
Manchester city Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini has said Manchester City will show no fear in Real Madrid for their Champions League semifinal second leg.
The City boss insisted the Spanish club were not favourites to reach the final despite holding his side to a 0-0 draw in Tuesday night's first leg at the Etihad.
Pellegrini's team have only lost one game away from home in the Champions League this season and any draw other than a scoreless one would be enough to ensure passage to a first-ever final in Milan on May 28.
However, Madrid have a fantastic record at the Bernabeu, where they have not conceded a goal in the Champions League this season.
Pellegrini told a press conference following the match: "I don't think they are favourites. As I said before the game we have the same option as Real Madrid.
"Of course, they have the advantage to play the first game away so they try to manage the tempo of the game. After that they finish at home. But this team play away very similar to the way we play at the Etihad.
"We had good results playing away at Paris Saint-Germain, Dynamo Kiev and Sevilla. We are not afraid to go to Bernabeu and we will see which team plays better in that game."Real Madrid were without three-time Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo while striker Karim Benzema lasted only 45 minutes after missing the game at the weekend with Rayo Vallecano.
However, Pellegrini denied they had missed an opportunity to beat Madrid with such key players missing.
"I don't think Real Madrid [lacked quality] with the squad they have because Ronaldo didn't play, because Benzema played only 45 minutes, same as David Silva only played 40 minutes.
"They didn't have Ronaldo we didn't have Yaya. It was a very close game where we tried to win from the beginning -- we pressed high and recovered the ball very well. But we were not very creative, we couldn't create clear chances to score."
Pellegrini also praised Joe Hart after two brilliant saves in the last 15 minutes, which effectively kept City in the tie ahead of next Wednesday's second leg. The England keeper kept out a Casemiro header and Pepe's strike from very close range.
"It was very important because it was a corner he made a double save, one from Casemiro and one from Pepe," added the Chilean. "He didn't have much work during the whole game, but Joe is a good goalkeeper of a big team."
Related Posts:
LIONEL MESSI TO PLAY IN ARGENTINA BEFORE RETIREMENTArgentine legendary striker Lionel Messi has again outlined his desire to play in his native Argentina before his career ends but the Barcelona forward insists he has put no time frame on a return. Messi, 28, began his car… Read More
I WILL BE READY FOR 1ST OF APRIL SAYS CAZORLASpaina and Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla insists he will be back on the pitch in April, despite Arsene Wenger revealing that the Spaniard has suffered an injury setback that puts his return in doubt. Cazorla has been side… Read More
ADAM JOHNSON FOUND GUILTY A COUNT CHARGE OF SEXUAL INVOLVEMENT WITH A CHILDFormer England international Adam Johnson have been found guilt of one count charge of sexual involvement with a child with the jury yet to reach conclusion on another count. The former Manchester city winger has been on tria… Read More
AM WITH HIGUAIN ON THIS ONE HE DESERVE RESPECT FROM THE CLUB PRESIDENT DE LAURENTIIS SAYS MARADONA Fans best player of last century Diego Maradona has hit out at Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis' claim that Gonzalo Higuain is overweight. De Laurentiis said that his club's Argentinean striker needed to "shed one a… Read More
PREMIER LEAGUE BIG GUNS HAPPY WITH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FORMAT Big-name Premier League clubs are happy with the current Champions League format following a report that talks about a European Super League have been held this week, sources have told CCS. The Sun has reported that offici… Read More
0 comments:
Post a Comment