"We go there with nothing to fear" - Real Madrid star makes confident claim ahead of UCL S/F against Man City at the Etihad stadium
Daniel Carvajal has claimed that Real Madrid have nothing to fear when they face Manchester City in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Etihad.
The two teams played out a tightly contested 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu yesterday (May 9). Vinicius Junior scored a stunning 36th-minute goal to hand his team the lead against the run of play.
Real Madrid did well to protect their lead for the next half hour, with Carvajal himself involved in a gripping battle with Jack Grealish. With Los Blancos seemingly on the front foot, Kevin De Bruyne equalized in the 67th minute with a sumptuous long-range shot.
Manchester City ended the game with six shots on target as compared to the hosts' four and kept 56% possession. It has been Real Madrid's modus operandi under Carlo Ancelotti in high-profile games to let the opponents have the ball and strike on the counter.
Carvajal believes Los Merengues were evenly matched in the first leg and have nothing to fear going into the return leg at the Etihad on May 17. He said, via Planetsport.com:
"I don't think we saw a City side that are superior to Madrid. The team goes home knowing that we played well and that if we get things right, if we take our chances in Manchester, we have a chance of going through. We go there with nothing to fear. We have to go there to win, to play our game, and the team believes in it."
Real Madrid faced City in the Champions League semifinals last season as well, losing the first leg 4-3 at the Etihad but winning 3-1 on home soil.
Real Madrid star says referee could have made costly error in Manchester City draw
One of the biggest points of contention in Real Madrid's 1-1 draw against Manchester City was the legitimacy of Kevin de Bruyne's goal.
Bernardo Silva seemed to have failed to keep the ball in play moments before the Belgium international's goal. VAR checked the incident but did not rule out the goal, even though after the game, 3D images showed that the ball did go out of play.
Speaking about the incident after the game, Daniel Carvajal said, via the aforementioned source:
"It's complicated to referee a Champions League semi-final. We have to congratulate him [referee Artur Dias] for that but if the ball did go out then that's an error that could cost us the tie."
According to ESPN, Eduardo Camavinga losing possession under no pressure with a poor pass after the incident reset the attacking phase of play (APP). Hence, anything before the aforementioned change in possession was invalidated for a VAR check.