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Rodrygo Goes and Erling Haaland (Source: Twitter)
Rodrygo Goes of Real Madrid has been in excellent form in the build-up to tonight's UEFA Champions League semi-final first-leg showdown with Manchester City. He scored both goals when Real Madrid defeated Osasuna 2-1 to win the Copa del Rey. Rodrygo has three goals and an assist in Real Madrid's previous five games.
Even he understands the significance of keeping Manchester City's superstar attacker Erling Haaland under control. Rodrygo named Haaland, who has a Premier League record 35 goals, as the most dangerous player in City's lineup in a recent interview with Spanish media outlet RTVE.
“Haaland scores a lot of goals. No one knows how to stop him. I hope he doesn’t score against us. Manchester City is always scary. They are a great team, they play very well, but we are confident that we can win,” said Rodrygo.
We would be stupid if we didn’t respect them: Bernardo Silva
City would be still reeling from their humiliating defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu last season. City finally lost the tie-breaker after leading Real 5-3 (on aggregate) until the 89th minute of the second leg. It's no surprise that City's talismanic midfielder Bernardo Silva is out for vengeance.
“We would be stupid if we didn’t respect them, but we have that goal
Both Real Madrid and Manchester City have been in excellent form in the build-up to this match. While Real Madrid slammed four goals without reply past Chelsea over two quarter-final legs, City easily defeated Bayern Munich 4-1 on aggregate.
City is vying for its first Champions League trophy, especially after suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the final in 2021. Madrid, on the other hand, has a long history in the coveted competition, having won a record 14 times. This season, Haaland has scored 12 goals in the Champions League, breaking his previous high of ten.