Manuel Pellegrini has said Manchester City have no fear of facing Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals after being paired with the 10-times winners in yesterday's draw.
City have played Real twice before in European competition, meeting them at the group stage in the 2012-13 season. City lost 3-2 in Madrid and drew the return 1-1. Pellegrini is relaxed about facing a side led by the in-form Cristiano Ronaldo, and believes City should not be scared.
“They have very big players, maybe they are the most important team in the world, but we also have very good players and we know that if we play how we play every week, we have an option to win,” the manager said.
Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich meet in the other semi-final, raising the prospect that Pellegrini could face a Bayern side managed by Pep Guardiola, who will replace him this summer, in the final.
City's tie against a Spanish club was mirrored in a Europa League draw that pitted Liverpool against Villarreal. Real's attacking game should suit City's equally open style, though Pellegrini denied they were the easiest option.
“Atlético are very competitive. Against Bayern, we played four times: we won two each, so it’s very level,” he said.
City play the first leg at home on Tuesday, April 26th, and the return the following Wednesday. Pellegrini is adamant that despite Real’s pedigree in the competition – no club has won as many European Cups – Zinedine Zidane’s side are not favourites.
“The same as what I said when you asked me if Paris Saint-Germain was favourite when we drew them in the quarter-final: there are no favourites. It’s exactly the same,” he said. “Both teams have the same options. It’s the same now. We have the same options.
“Maybe another way of thinking is it’s more easy to say they have all the pressure because they are a big team, we are invited only to the semi-final, but I don’t think that is the way. We have the same options as Real Madrid that we are going to play against them like we always do, playing and thinking as a big team. And we are going to try to score here the most amount of goals we can, so I hope this team will reach the final this year.”
Pellegrini has experience of the semi-finals, having taken Villarreal to this stage in 2006, when they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Arsenal.
“Always the motivation to play the semi-final is unbelievable,” he said. “I always prefer to finish at home, but that is not the most important thing.”
It is his former club, Villarreal, who stand in the way of Liverpool after Jürgen Klopp’s side conjured a stunning defeat of Borussia Dortmund. Liverpool play the first leg on April 28th and host the second on May 5th. Villarreal are fourth in La Liga, eight points clear of fifth-placed Celta Vigo, and on course for Champions League qualification through the domestic route. The Europa League winners also gain entry to next season’s Champions League.
Marcelino García Toral’s team have beaten Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen and Sparta Prague en route to the last four, seeing off the Czech club 6-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, with four goals coming away from home. They have also beaten Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid at the 25,000-capacity El Madrigal stadium this season – Roberto Soldado scoring the only goal against Real – and drew 2-2 with Barcelona last month.
The draw for the other Europa League semi-final pitted the holders, Sevilla, against Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine.
– Guardian service
EUROPEAN SEMI-FINAL DRAWS
Champions League:
Bayern Munich v Atlético Madrid
Manchester City v Real Madrid
First legs: April 26th/27th
Second legs: May3rd/4th
Europa League
Liverpool v Villarreal
Sevilla v Shakhtar Donetsk
First legs: April 28th
Second legs: May 5th
