MADRID, 3 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has assured that if they play “below” the level they showed in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals they will be beaten this Wednesday by Real Madrid in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, and therefore they need to play “at an excellent level”.
“If we play like we did last week we can be one of the best teams. If we play below that, Madrid can win because they are also one of the best teams in the world. We need to play at an excellent level, because it will be a game spectacular and that we have to be at our best level. Hopefully we can be in Paris”, he declared at a press conference.
In addition, he considers that they are “on the right track” to try to be in their second consecutive ‘Champions’ final. “The fact that we haven’t won it yet is the only criticism we can take,” she said. “We’ve been to the last few qualifiers many times and competing to win titles. We just need to stay on that path and not get sidetracked,” she said.
On the other hand, the Belgian midfielder believes that they are better than when the white team eliminated them in the 2015-16 Champions League. “We are in better shape now. Madrid won 1-0, but I think it was a very boring match. We are in a different state of shape, we play better. We have a better team now,” he stressed.
In another order of things, he recalled the quarterfinal tie against Atlético de Madrid. “I received a lot of kicks in the game against Atlético and a few more afterwards, but I feel good. I’ve played a lot of games, so I’m happy,” he said, before talking about his past injury.
“I had never felt that pain, but I was able to get back to my best level. The injury thing was tough mentally, but when the pain went away two months ago I started to feel more confident in myself. I’m playing every game, two a week , and I feel at my level again,” he concluded.