Sergio Aguero believes Manchester City’s Champions League clash at Real Madrid will be ‘a match like no other’. Last season, the Citizens were 5-3 up on aggregate going into injury time of the second-leg, only for Rodrygo to score twice in two minutes to level the tie, before a Karim Benzema penalty in extra-time sent Los Blancos through to the final where they would beat Liverpool to win their 14th European title. This time around, Pep Guardiola’s men are the overwhelming favourite to win not only the tie but the entire competition, with either Inter Milan or AC Milan to come in the final.
But Aguero, City’s all-time top goalscorer, has warned his former teammates not to capitulate like they did last season, telling Stake.com that he is hopeful the defeat is playing on their minds. He said: ‘That’s the meaning of experience, isn’t it? They’ll have to learn from it, particularly this late into the knockouts. No one should grow complacent. They’ll have to keep performing at the highest level until the very last second of the very last match. The teams themselves are the threat – you can’t look at one, two or three players. That’s not smart for City, and it’s not smart for Madrid either. I don’t mean to dodge the question though… if I have to give an answer, I’d say that the Vinicius-Benzema combination is one of the weapons that City will need to dismantle. But that isn’t a breakthrough of any sorts. Both teams do have amazing players who can mark the difference at any given moment.’
The Champions League is the trophy City crave the most and after coming so close over the past couple of years, Aguero believes this will be their year, though the Real clash will be a lot closer than their victories over RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich in the earlier knockout games. He said: ‘It’s an early final – a gruelling series of matches for sure. We saw that last year. I think City will get there in one piece, but they’ll have an intense bout of games leading up to it. This being said… this will be a match like no other. I know they’ll be able to leave everything behind when the starting whistle blows. 2022 gave the team a lot of experience, and that will matter. As for Madrid, we know what they are capable of. The bracket will be tight, but I have faith in City and I believe they’ll make it through.’