Manuel Pellegrini: "Everyone's obsessed with Cristiano Ronaldo"
The Man City manager thinks the media is 'obsessed' with Cristiano, but is well aware that his team needs to be wary of the threat he poses in the Champions League semi-final.
"Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world" said Pellegrini in his pre-match press conference, but refused to pass remark on his exit from the club blanco and the 'poor treatment' he received there: "I never look back", the Chilean explained.
The City boss will be hoping to put one over on his former employers in Manchester City's first appearance at this stage of the competition, underlining the differences involved in managing both clubs:
"Manchester City is growing every season", he opined, saying that Real Madrid's history means there are different pressures managing them than there are at Manchester City.
Pellegrini gave confirmation that Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri will miss the Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid.
Captain Vincent Kompany focused on the role the local support can provide for the sky-blues who hope to leave the stadium sky-high after a win over los blancos: "the Etihad crowd can make the difference" announced Kompany, asking City's home supporters to turn up the volume and show up in full voice on Tuesday.
The Belgian assured that he was "100 percent fit" ahead of the big Real test, but refused to reveal how they planned to stop Cristiano & Co. insisting that City will have to defend as a team to stop Real Madrid's attacking stars.