Spain Real Madrid Communications Director Emilio Butragueno is confident despite his team meeting defending champions Man City in the Champions League quarter-finals.
"Man City are the defending champions, and we understand each other perfectly," Butragueno said after the quarter-final draw on the evening of March 15. "I don't need to list the qualities that Man City have. They are at the highest level. In my opinion, the two teams will give two great matches to the audience."
Rodrygo celebrates scoring in the second leg of the 2021-2022 semi-final, Real beat Man City 3-1 at the Bernabeu. Photo: AFP
Butragueno admitted that facing Man City is a challenge, but it is also a match that Real players want to play and enjoy. When playing matches like this, the players can be more excited and perform better.
Real's communications director also warned that the home team needed to get a good result in the first leg at the Bernabeu before they could think about the return leg in England and the possibility of reaching the semi-finals.
"The difficulty is very high, but let's see what happens," Butragueno added. "They are very strong, but we also have a very good team."
Meanwhile, Man City's sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, paid tribute to Real's 14-time championship tradition. He said that history is an advantage that helps Real always be confident when competing in the Champions League. However, he also recalled that Man City beat Real 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals last season.
Man City players celebrate a goal in the 4-0 win over Real in the second leg of the 2022-2023 semi-finals. Photo: Reuters
Regarding his team, Begiristain said that Pep Guardiola and his team are very confident and mentally strong. He also reiterated that Man City are playing very well in their journey to defend their championship.
"We have won every game since the start of the Champions League season. Hopefully we can keep that pace," Begiristain added.
According to Man City's sporting director, reaching the quarter-finals is a great achievement for any club. Therefore, not only Real - Man City, the remaining three pairs also have their own difficulties.
According to the draw on the evening of March 15, the winner of the Real - Man City match will advance to the semi-finals to meet the winner of the Arsenal - Bayern match. Meanwhile, the two pairs PSG - Barca and Atletico - Dortmund are in the remaining bracket. The first leg of the quarter-finals will take place on April 9-10 and the second leg will take place a week later.
Last season, Man City drew 1-1 in the first leg of the semi-final at the Bernabeu, before winning 4-0 at home. A season before that, Man City won 4-3 in the first leg at home, but lost 1-3 in the second leg. The two teams also met once in the semi-finals of the 2015-16 season, when Real drew 0-0 at the Etihad and won 1-0 at home. Each time they have overcome each other, Real and Man City have gone on to win the title.
Thanh Quy (according to Marca )
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