UEFA Champions League Semifinal Draw 2016
Manchester City to meet Real Madrid in Champions League semi-finals Jamie Jackson
@JamieJackson___
Friday 15 April 2016 10.57 BST Manuel Pellegrini has admitted Manchester City have a difficult draw against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals. City host Real on 26 April at the Etihad Stadium in the opening leg before playing the return game at the Bernabéu on 4 May.
While the other teams City could have played were Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich, managed by Pellegrini’s pending successor, Pep Guardiola, the Chilean said: “It is a difficult draw. It doesn’t matter which team we played. The options are the same. There was no preference for opponent.”
Pellegrini has experience of the semi-finals having taken Villarreal to the stage in 2006, when they were defeated by Arsenal. “There is no greater motivation,” the manager said. “Always the motivation to play the semi-final is unbelievable. I always prefer to finish at home but that is not the most important thing.”
Real are four points behind Barcelona in La Liga with six matches left and Pellegrini, who coached Real in the 2009-10 season, said: “Always to win the Champions League is important but at Real Madrid you must win a title. They are playing a semi-final. They still have options in the league.”
The main threat to City progressing to the Champions League final for the first time in their history will be the in-form Cristiano Ronaldo. The 31-year-old scored a hat-trick in Tuesday night’s 3-0 quarter-final second-leg victory over Wolfsburg, which took Real through 3-2 on aggregate. City reached the semi-finals for the first time with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
City play Chelsea in Saturday’s late Premier League kick-off. “Vincent Kompany is not in the squad for tomorrow. I hope he will start on Tuesday against Newcastle,” Pellegrini said of the captain who is recovering from a knee injury. “We need to bring Vincent back when he is 100%. He has been very unlucky with injuries. The way we manage it is exactly the same.
“David Silva is out tomorrow with an ankle injury. Raheem Sterling was working with the squad yesterday, maybe he will be fit on Tuesday. All other players are OK.
“David Silva needs to manage his ankle until the end of the season. Difficult for him to play two games in a row and we do not want to force him too much. We just have to make sure he is 100%. He doesn’t need an operation at the end of the season.”
