Raphael Varane thinks Real Madrid’s hopes of progressing to their second UEFA Champions League final in the last three years will hinge upon on how they cope with Sergio Aguero. The striker has arguably been Manchester City’s best player this season.
The forward has been scoring goals for fun and recently achieved a personal landmark. He became the second fastest player to score a 100 goals in the Premier League, after Newcastle legend Alan Shearer.
Varane was both complementary and cautious when he spoke about the striker. Speaking to Sport-English he said, ”He’s a great great player. We have to pay extra attention. He’s decisive and fundamental for Man City. We have to keep a close eye on him. We know his qualities. I think we must not leave him any space and be on our guard to stop him.”
The young defender picked out Aguero but also spoke about the talent they possess in other positions in the team. “They are the great talents of their team in attack but they have many more.”
Varane believes CIty have a solid backline and players with immense quality saying, “They have very solid players at the back. They are very athletic. They have many qualities.”
The Frenchman has warned his teammates about the threat City possess and the seriousness with which Madrid will have to approach the game. “We must be really serious, really focused and defend as a team, all together and be compact. “
With Cristiano Ronaldo back in training, Madrid will be hoping he will be ready for tomorrow night’s clash. But even without their talisman Varane believes Real can be sharp in attack. ”Up front we must be at our best against them. We must give our maximum and we can win big trophies. It’s an exciting end to the season.”
Manchester City have made it to the semi-finals of the competition for the very first time in their history. After disappointing in previous campaigns Pellegrini has finally broken the curse.
The 23-year-old knows that City will be up for the fight after what they have achieved so far saying, “They will give it their all, they are very motivated. It’s the first time ever they’ve reached the semi-final. So they will give their maximum. We know it will be a very difficult match against a team of great quality.”
Los Blancos’ will travel to Manchester for the first leg tomorrow, with the return leg set to take place at the Bernabeu in the first week of May.
