Erling Haaland will face Real Madrid for the first time in the upcoming semi-finals. Credit: AFP/Christof Stache
Spanish Newspapers wasted no time in escalating Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Manchester City after drawing striker Erling Haaland next to the headline: 'The Ogre is Coming'.
Madrid newspaper AS ignited a rivalry that needs no fuel after last season's dramatic semi-final which saw Real win 6-5 on aggregate after a dramatic second leg at Etihad that only ended in the 85th penalty minute by Karim Benzema.
City does not underestimate the gravity of the draw: the two teams should meet at the same stage this season, and Bernardo Silva talks about the «revenge» mission that he and his teammates will take part in, when the first phase starts in two weeks.
With the Milan derby between Milan and Internazionale in the other semi-final, the last four matches of the Champions League promise a lot of drama and fireworks — and if the Spanish media has anything to do with it, they will not hesitate to provoke a reaction from City and, in particular, Håland.
What did the Spanish papers say?
AS decided to publish a poster showing Haaland celebrating at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena on Wednesday night after scoring a penalty that sent City down scored four goals against well in aggregate.
When Haaland held his finger to his face in an attempt to silence the Munich fans who booed and taunted him all night — thanks to his past ties to their Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund — the newspaper ran the headline «Viene el Ogro», which translates as «The Ogre is Coming». ”.
It was also reported on the front page that this match would see another reunion between Guardiola and Madrid, who struggled heavily when the former midfielder was Barcelona manager.
AS also decided to publish an article on Haaland's prospects for a move to Madrid in the near future, as it became known that the reigning Spanish league champions were interested in signing the Norwegian after he failed to sign Kylian Mbappe from PSG last summer.< /p>
«Madrid already knows the path to take to convince Haaland,» writes AS's Marco Ruiz. “Because he has done it in the past. The Norwegian kept the door of the white club open until he made the move to sign a contract with City. It's usually a recurring strategy in Madrid where the player's signing situation is left open even if it doesn't happen in the end. And do it at the end.»
Front page of Spanish daily AS Credit: AS What did the city say?< p>Guardiola didn't try to downplay Madrid's Champions League dominance, having won five titles in less than ten years. “I read yesterday that Real Madrid have reached 11 semi-finals in 13 years. Chapo.
“We've reached three semi-finals in a row and we think it's incredible. All teams believe that if you want to win the Champions League, you should call yourself Real Madrid. It used to be Barcelona and now it's Real Madrid.
But Silva was much more optimistic.
«We know it's always difficult against Real Madrid in this competition, but we go for everything, that's for sure. We always do. I think the team is very, very confident right now… and I think we can do it.
“Last year there were a lot of disappointments because of the way we lost. It's a competition that this club loves so much and we have the opportunity to go and win against Madrid. We are especially aware of their strength in this competition.”
When asked if City would retaliate, the Portuguese midfielder replied: “Of course, I'm sure they will. It was so hard to lose. More than revenge, there is a desire to win this final. This is what we want to give to our fans and management.»
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