Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has fired warning to Real Madrid following their 3-0 demolition of Chelsea on Saturday, insisting his side won’t be underdogs in their Champions League semi-final tie.
City have reached the last four of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time, but in order to progress to the final they must overcome a Real Madrid side that boast some of the best players in the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the tournament’s top scorer this term with 16 goals, whilst Toni Kroos has completed more passes (699) than any other player remaining in the competition.
City have already been written-off in some quarters, but Pellegrini believes that his side can prevail.
As reported by the Daily Mirror, Pellegrini said: “There are no favourites, it’s exactly the same. Both teams have the same options.
“Maybe another way of thinking is to say no they have all the pressure because they’re a big team and we’re only invited to the semi-final, but I don’t think that is the way.
“We have the same options as Real Madrid and we’re going to play against them like we always do, playing and thinking as a big team and trying to score the most amount of goals we can at home, so I hope this team will reach the final this year.
“They have very big players and 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.”
In addition to their Champions League exploits, City face a battle to finish in the top four of the Premier League, with rivals Manchester United increasing the pressure on Manuel Pellegrini’s side by prevailing past Aston Villa on Saturday.
However, City followed that up by beating Chelsea 3-0, whilst displaying an excellent 89% shot accuracy.
City’s title challenge may have faltered this campaign but the club still have a chance to conclude the season strongly, and success in Europe would be the best way to prove that they are moving in the right direction ahead of the arrival of Pep Guardiola.
There is even an intriguing possibility that City could meet Guardiola’s Bayern in the final of the Champions League should they reach that stage.Pellegrini’s team travel to face struggling Newcastle United on Tuesday night in their next Premier League game.
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