The winner of Real Madrid’s Champions League play-off against Manchester City will be one of the top contenders for the trophy, according to Carlo Ancelotti. He knows his team is up for a great showdown as the two teams face each other for the fourth season running in Europe’s top club competition. The first leg will be held in Manchester on Tuesday.
This year’s encounter comes earlier than usual, as both teams have had their struggles in the newly formatted league phase, each losing three of their eight matches. City managed to qualify for the knockout rounds after a dramatic second-half comeback against Club Brugge in their final group match. Despite their qualification, the Premier League giants have had a hard season, sitting fourth in the league, 15 points behind leaders Liverpool, following a remarkable streak of four consecutive titles under Pep Guardiola.
“Yes, the most difficult opponent, most important opponent and against the best manager,” Ancelotti said at a pre-match press conference on Monday.
“I’m convinced the team that goes through in this tie will go very deep into the competition.”
Real Madrid is leading the La Liga title race, ahead of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, but they too have faced challenges, including defensive injuries throughout the season.
“I continue to think City is one of the best teams in Europe and that they have the best coach in this competition. It is still the most difficult game we could have,” he said.
“I am surprised they had a period where it was difficult to overcome the injuries but now the team I saw in the last few games is a good team, a competitive team.
“I struggle to imagine Manchester City not being strong. They are really strong with fantastic players and a fantastic manger.”
Ancelotti stated that in the past three seasons, it was the winner of this tie that had succeeded in lifting the Champions League title, a cycle that he might expect to break today. Having endured a rough period recently-a defeat at City saw Arsenal blow open the opposition 5-1 in the final stages of the last match of the English league Ancelotti recognized Guardiola’s squad remains strong.
