‘We can repeat this’

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said he is confident his team can shine against Manchester City next week to progress in the Champions League after a thrilling 33 quarterfinal first leg draw TuesdayLast season record 14time winners Madrid tied 11 with Pep Guardiolarsquos City at home in the semifinal first leg but were hammered 40 at the Etihad StadiumMan City hold the edgeCity who went on to win the competition for the first time twice took the lead against Madrid but Los Blancos battled back to leave the game finely poised ldquoWe had the grit to get back into the game now we have a small disadvantage because we play away from home but with the confidence that we can repeat this performancerdquo Ancelotti told reportersAncelotti said his players lacked courage and personality last season in Manchester but the coach insisted this year would be different ldquoToday we gave our best selvesmdashwe have the confidence of repeating the same in the second legrdquo said the coachAlso ReadExNZ leggie Jack Alabaster no more at 93Madrid wanted small leadldquoThe truth is the idea was to take a small lead maybe a 43 it wouldnrsquot change a lot of what Irsquod plan for the second legrdquo he continued ldquoWe started in a very bad way with a goal against us but the team managed the situation very wellrdquoBernardo Silva sent City ahead with a freekick but a Ruben Dias own goal and Rodrygorsquos strike helped Madrid go ahead Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol scored two screamers for City but Fede Valverde rescued Madrid a draw with a searing volleyGuardiola said his team showed maturity to ldquocontrol the gamerdquo in the second half after seeing Madrid evaporate their initial lead ldquoIn the first one two three seasons together we would have lost the game 41 51 we were not stable emotionallyrdquo the former Barcelona coach explainedldquoBeing stable emotionally is fundamental in the good moments and the bad momentsrdquo he addedGuardiola said having home advantage in the second leg could give his team the equivalent of a onegoal boost ldquoIn Manchester it will be sold out our fans will help us score one goal and we will try to do the restrdquo added Guardiola ldquoItrsquos simple the team who wins will be in the semifinalrdquoAncelotti makes 200th appearance as coach in CLCarlo Ancelotti made his 200th appearance as a coach in the Champions League as Real Madrid hosted Manchester City in the first leg of the competitionrsquos quarterfinals on TuesdayCarlo AncelottiThe 64yearold Italian is the coach with the most appearances in the European tournament He also is the coach with the most titles four and victories 114It was the 59th game as Madrid coach for Ancelotti who is in his 21st Champions League season Two of his titles came with the Spanish clubmdashin 2014 and 2022 The other two were won with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007Man City coach Pep Guardiola entered the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with the second most Champions League victories as a coach with 109 wins in 167 appearancesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever