The young Brazilian winger of Manchester City, Savinho, made some big revelations to the club’s official channel ahead of the first-leg clash against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
With the new format of the Champions League, Real Madrid, Manchester City, PSG, and several other big European clubs struggled to avoid elimination in the group stages. Failing to directly qualify for the round of 16, they will now play a play-off, equivalent to a round of 32. Already on Tuesday, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid will face Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues in a thrilling encounter at the Etihad Stadium. With several key defensive players unavailable, the Madrid team will try to contain Savinho and his teammates, who remain very dangerous.
Savinho’s revelations
During this first leg, which will be officiated by French referee Clément Turpin, several talents will be on display on the pitch. Speaking of talent, Pep Guardiola will rely on the young Brazilian winger Savinho, who arrived in England a few months ago. Asked by Manchester City’s official channel ahead of the Madrid reception, the 20-year-old forward clearly stated that both teams should not be playing in this play-off due to their status.
“When we drew Real Madrid, there was nowhere to escape to. It was either Bayern or Madrid, two great teams, and we got Madrid,” he initially said. While he believes Manchester City could have managed the group stage better in this new Champions League edition, Savinho says the same about the Merengues.
“I think we, Manchester City, shouldn’t be playing in the play-offs. We should have qualified for the next round more convincingly and not found ourselves in a play-off against Real Madrid. Also, we must remember that they, with all the weight of their badge, shouldn’t be in the play-offs either. So we must be very cautious in this regard,” he continued.
Savinho knows Real’s mentality
A former Girona player in La Liga, the 20-year-old Brazilian has outlined the path to defeating Real Madrid. Knowing the mental strength of Carlo Ancelotti’s players, Savinho wants to kill the game as early as possible by scoring goals.
“I’ve spoken to Bernardo (Silva) and even to some Real Madrid players when I was with the national team, and they told me that sometimes, because of the strength of their badge, when they’re losing 2-0 or 3-0 and the match isn’t over, they know they can do what they did in that Champions League season at any moment: come back in the last five minutes of the match.” The young City player advises being sharp in front of goal: “We have to stay focused and take our chances when we have them, as that will also be very important. It’s a lesson I learned at Girona…” he concluded.
In any case, the message is clear. In fact, Tuesday’s match promises to be exciting given the form of both teams. Struggling against top teams this season, Manchester City, who can already forget about the Premier League title, will host a Madrid side that hasn’t won many big matches this season. With numerous defensive absences, Carlo Ancelotti’s team will have to patch things up to limit the damage at the Etihad before the return leg at the Bernabéu.
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