The Royal team have won five Champions League titles in the past decade, including 3 with Zinedine Zidane and two with Ancelotti, including last season when they beat Manchester City going into the semi-finals 6 -5 in total.
The two teams drew 1-1 in the first leg in Spain, where Real Madrid advanced with a superb goal from Vinicius Junior, but City’s Kevin De Bruyne equalized in the second half.
Severe warning
Ancelotti, who has won the Champions League 4 times as a manager, a record with Milan and Real Madrid, on Wednesday warned his players against complacency in the face of opposition at the Etihad Stadium.
“Quality alone is not enough to face such matches, Ancelotti said at a press conference on Tuesday. You have to have something else.”
And the Italian manager continued: “It’s not easy to explain Real Madrid’s recipe for success, but I think the Champions League is special for Real Madrid because of history.”
Ancelotti expected an equal match, as happened in the draw at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium last week, and added: “Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be no different from the first leg.”
And he added: “We want to improve on some things compared to last week. City have the best team in Europe at the moment and that will be exciting.”
Enjoy every moment
On the other hand, Guardiola said during his press conference: “Maybe my legacy will hold a book about this one day. The legacy is that we had great times and played great football. The best legacy you can get is that you played well and performed well.”
That’s why Guardiola, 52, has told his players to have fun rather than focusing on how strong the game is.
The Spanish manager added: “We know how important the game is. It’s probably one of the most important games and we can’t deny that. But I asked the players to enjoy the moment. We are incredibly lucky to be here. We will do everything and give our all.”
Guardiola said his team should play ‘much better’ than Madrid’s game and hoped his team would be more flexible in attack.
City lost to Chelsea in their only Champions League final appearance of 2021.
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