Manuel Pellegrini denied that Manchester City missed a fine opportunity to put themselves in pole position for the Champions League final after drawing with Real Madrid in the semi-final first leg despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence.
The Portuguese was ruled out of the matchday 18 at the Etihad Stadium as he has not fully recovered from a thigh problem. Karim Benzema was also not fully fit due to a recent hamstring injury and he was forced off at half-time, yet City could not score and shared a goalless draw with Real.
While this means they did not concede an away goal, Pellegrini revealed the club failed to move Sunday’s trip to Southampton to Saturday so as to have an extra day’s rest before next Wednesday evening’s second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.
City kick off against Saints at 4.30pm while Real are at Real Sociedad for a 3pm start on Saturday. Pellegrini said: “Unfortunately for us, we are going to have one day less. We tried to play on Saturday but it was impossible so we play on Sunday. We will give all we can to arrive to the final.”
While it is understood that as soon as City were drawn against Real the Premier League and Sky Sports refused the club’s request to move the game, the Chilean was clear they did not fail to take advantage of Real being under strength.
“No, I don’t think so. Real Madrid with the squad they have because Ronaldo didn’t play, Benzema played 45 minutes – it was the same as David Silva, he only played 40 minutes and we didn’t have Yaya Touré,” he said. “It was a very close game. We were not very creative, we couldn’t create clear chances to score.
“I don’t think they are favourites. We have the same option as Real Madrid [to go through]. They have the advantage to play the first game away. They try to manage the tempo of the game. After that they finish at home. They play away very similar to how we play at the Etihad. We are not afraid to go to Bernabéu and we will see which team plays better.”
Silva suffered a hamstring problem and appears likely to miss the return. “David Silva has a hamstring injury and will not be fit in one week,” Pellegrini said.
Zinedine Zidane is unsure if Ronaldo and Benzema will be fit for the return match. “We are going to try and get them fit,” said the Real coach. “That is our plan. I can’t assure you of anything. I can’t tell you right now if they will be fit. We have to look at it day by day.
“I am happy with the game. It has not been easy. We defended really well, above all in the second half. We had a couple of chances to score a goal. With the chances we had I am a little bit disappointed. We perhaps deserved more. Defensively, I’m really pleased. We fought hard. It was a hardworking performance from us.”
