Champions League: Rodri warns Real Madrid of Man City revenge

Rodri has warned Real Madrid that Manchester City will be out for revenge when they meet in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tonight.

Real knocked City out of the competition at the semi-final stage last season when Pep Guardiola’s team collapsed in the second leg at the Bernabéu, conceding two late goals and then another in extra time to lose 6-5 on aggregate.

Rodri insisted that City had improved greatly and were determined to right the wrongs of last season.

“In the last five minutes of the second leg we didn’t handle it the right way, but we have learnt from that — you have to kill when you can,” Rodri, the Spain midfielder, said.

“We changed a lot of things and the environment has changed a lot so we are here to fight again and we have the hunger for revenge. We have done things well so far and arrive here in our best moment.”

Pep Guardiola had a different take on the situation, telling his players that they must not become obsessed by the idea of exacting revenge on their opponents, who beat Liverpool in the Champions League final last season after overcoming City.

“It would be a huge mistake [to focus on revenge],” Guardiola said. “We are not here for revenge. We did more than everything to reach the final but sometimes it’s not enough.

“The lesson we can learn is to get a good result, perform well and have the opportunity to reach the final by the time we play the second leg in Manchester.”

Guardiola, who said that Nathan Aké is out with a calf problem, with Manuel Akanji likely to start at left back, admitted for the first time that he gets the sense from City’s owners that they are desperate to win the Champions League.

“I know the demand from my club to win the Champions League,” he said. “I had the feeling when I arrived. “They didn’t ask me but I know the feeling that after the first Premier League the target was the Champions League. It’s normal. When you don’t have one trophy you want it. It’s nice, in a good way.

Carlo Ancelotti did little to play down the idea that City are favourites to progress to next month’s final in Istanbul. The Real head coach is wary of taking on City as they go into the match on a 20-game unbeaten run.

The Italian is also conscious of the threat that Erling Haaland, City’s striker, will pose to his team, who have won the Champions League a record 14 times.

“He is a very dangerous player, he is showing impressive quality, especially in scoring goals, but only talking about him means not talking about a very complete team that plays well, that defends well, attacks, has ideas, so we are not thinking about a game plan to stop him but to stop a team that seems unstoppable,” Ancelotti said.

“But I think we can have a chance to do a good, equal, competitive game that we can win.”

Ancelotti is without Éder Militão, the Brazil defender, who is suspended, but the key midfielder Luka Modric is available again after overcoming a thigh injury that has kept him out of the past three matches.