Foden feels confident heading into Champions League semifinal

Manchester City travels to Madrid this week to face their Champions League semifinal opponents Real Madrid at the Bernabeu for the first leg. It’s a fascinating matchup between the team who won the championship last year and the team who was knocked out by them at this very stage.

Real Madrid vs Manchester City: 2022 vs 2023

At exactly this stage last year, Manchester City played Real Madrid, but they had the home field for the first leg, which they won 4-3. After that, however, City fell 3-1 at the Bernabeu. They were eliminated from the tournament while Real Madrid went on to defeat Liverpool in the final and become Champions for a record-extending 14th time.

But it’s a new year, and City’s looking at another chance to win the Champions League - a title that has eluded them so far, despite their dominance in the Premier League. City’s winger Phil Foden feels confident in their squad and even more so after looking at the matches from last year.

“I think [our chances are] strong. We’ve got to be positive. We’ve got to believe in ourselves,” said Foden. “We’ve obviously reached the final before, so we’ve proven that we can get to them stages and hopefully we can just keep going in the right direction.

“Even though we lost, I love Madrid away,” he continued. “The atmosphere and to play in a special stadium like that. I enjoyed every moment and obviously the game didn’t go how we wanted it to. But just the experience of playing in that stadium was so good.”

City is coming into the game after winning a tough battle with Leeds, 2-1, and maintaining their spot atop the Premier League Table with their 10th win in a row. Real Madrid is coming into it having won the Copa del Rey against Osasuna with a 2-1 victory. Both teams are likely feeling confident and motivated ahead of the first leg.

City captain Kevin De Bruyne tried to keep the perspective, without overthinking or getting overwhelmed by the upcoming matches.

“We know the importance of some games can feel bigger than others, but the preparation always remains the same,” said De Bruyne.

City’s midfielder Rodri, who sat out last year’s semifinals, is determined to help the team get to a victory.

“It’s always open. I mean, chances are always there,” he said. “We have to focus on ourselves, go step-by-step, don’t think much about the future. But of course, we need to perform well if we want to achieve the Champions League [title].”

“Of course, [the dream] has to be a final of the Champions League. We had the chance to play one final - not myself, because I didn’t play by the team - but I hope we have another chance in the future.”

The first leg of the Champions League semifinals between Manchester City and Real Madrid will be on Tuesday, May 9 at 3 p.m. ET at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. The second leg will take place at the Etihad in Manchester on Wednesday, May 17 at 3 p.m. ET.