Chronicle EditorMANCHESTER. — Manchester City’s players face the game of their lives in tonight’s Champions League soccer semi-final first leg against Real Madrid, captain Vincent Kompany said yesterday.
While City have reached this stage of the competition for the first time, having broken new ground by overcoming Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, 10-time champions Madrid are making a record 27th semi-final appearance.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side will therefore start as underdogs at the Etihad Stadium, but Kompany knows that he and his team-mates will not want for motivation.
“We have great players in the team of course and when we talk about the maturity of the club at this level, the players are all players who can play at that level,” he told reporters at the City Football Academy in Manchester.
“To play against those top players, that’s what you want. There’s not a day in my life where I’m thinking these occasions are stressful or difficult.
“I want this for myself and at this level, all players want this for themselves. You have to play against those players as many times as we can and try and beat those teams.
“That’s what’s going to make history for this club.” — AFP.
Online Reporter