Rudiger takes swipe at Man City as Ferdinand delivers prediction ahead of second leg vs Madrid
Antonio Rudiger insists Man City “were not dangerous” against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night.
Man City and Real Madrid could not be separated as Kevin de Bruyne’s stunning equaliser cancelled out a brilliant first-half effort from Vinicius Junior in a 1-1 draw.
The Citizens dominated a lot of the first half before Vinicius lashed home to give Los Blancos the lead on 36 minutes – but De Bruyne’s equaliser 23 minutes from time leaves the tie delicately poised ahead of the second leg.
Former Chelsea centre-back Rudiger was far from impressed by Man City, though, with the Germany international confident Real Madrid can win at the Etihad Stadium later this month.
Rudiger told reporters: “They got the goal quite late so we feel like we could have had more but it’s not a problem, the tie is definitely on and we can go to Manchester with confidence.
“At the end of the day they were not dangerous. They had a lot of possession, we knew this would happen, but they were not dangerous. The goal is quality from De Bruyne.”
When asked if he was confident that Real Madrid could knock Man City out the competition in the second leg, Rudiger replied: “We are Real Madrid, we are always confident.”
Rio Ferdinand, who was a pundit on BT Sport last night, predicts Real Madrid will travel to Man City with no fear after their draw on Tuesday evening.
Ferdinand said: “Real will not be going there (to the Etihad) with any fear. They will be bouncing into that stadium with swagger.
“Real have the same amount of Champions League titles as all of the English teams added together. They own this competition.
“You’re playing against the history here as well, it’s not just these players. The 14 trophies, you look in their dugout, Carlo Ancelotti’s got four Champions League winners medals.
“They know how to navigate every moment in these games because they’re so used to it. You’re playing against so much history.”
But Ferdinand reckon Man City did themselves proud at the Bernabeu and can be pleased with their performance heading into the second leg.
“This City team you’ve got to hold them up and say they came here and the way they performed in terms of character, taking on the ball, the bravery.
“I think that was a phenomenal start and for the first game they can come away with something, with their heads held high.”
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