Fourteen-time UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid will host English champions Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Tuesday in the first leg of the tournament’s semi-final.
En route to the semis, City knocked out Bayern Munich 4-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals. Madrid, on the other hand, stunned City’s league-mates, Chelsea, 4-0 on aggregate at the same stage.
Madrid and City have played against each other a total of eight times in the Champions League, with either side winning three, losing three and pulling two draws.
The number of goals scored by either teams is almost even, with City registering 13 goals against Madrid, and the Spanish giants scoring 12 against the Manchester side.
Madrid beat Man City 6-5 on aggregate at the same stage of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League en route to winning the trophy for the 14th time.
They also eliminated City at the same stage in 2015/16, the season before Pep Guardiola joined.
The two sides clashed in the 2019-20 season, in the Round of 16. It was City who prevailed, winning both legs 2-1.
Unlike Madrid, who are immensely successful in the tournament, City are yet to win their first UEFA Champions League trophy.
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti warned Manchester City that they will face a spirited Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Ancelotti said that Madrid’s fans in the stadium will be the club’s “12th player” as City will field 11 players.
“We know that they (Manchester City) will push us. We have a small advantage in the first leg where we will play 12 [people] against [Man City’s] 11,” he said on Saturday after Madrid beat Osasuna 2-1 to lift the Copa del Rey trophy.
City manager Pep Guardiola, on his side, said they are not going to the Bernabéu to avenge their elimination from the competition by Madrid in the 2021/22 season.
“We are not here for revenge. What happened, happened in the past. The lesson we can learn is to learn a little bit what happened, get a good result and perform well to give us the opportunity to reach the final when we play in Manchester,” Guardiola told City’s website.
The winner between Madrid and City will face either Inter Milan or AC Milan in the finals on June 10 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye.
Team news
For Real Madrid, defender Eder Militao is suspended, and will not feature in this match. Ferland Mendy is also not confirmed to play as his calf injury may take him out of action.
For City, it is uncertain if Nathan Ake will play. A hamstring injury has forced him to miss trainings. Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish should all return after Guardiola rotated his players last weekend in the win over Leeds in the EPL fixture.
Manchester City are still on the hunt for an elusive Champions League crown, but must get past an experienced Madrid team. With their league hopes over, Real Madrid perhaps now have a tunnel vision and that’s the Champions League crown.
