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Real Madrid should be worried by the prospect of facing Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals, according to former Etihad Stadium hero Carlos Tevez.
City beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 on aggregate to tee up the last-four meeting with Carlo Ancelotti’s men, who edged past Chelsea to move one step away from the final.
Madrid visit Manchester on Tuesday for the first-leg clash, having failed to win on any of their previous three trips to face City in European competition (D2 L1).
The most recent two clashes came in the Champions League knockout stages, with Madrid drawing 0-0 in the 2015-16 semi-final first leg and losing 2-1 in the 2019-20 last-16 second leg, and Tevez believes Pep Guardiola’s side are in a strong position.
Madrid have won the Champions League/European Cup on 13 occasions, while City are chasing their first such title, but the Premier League side cannot be considered underdogs given their current strength.
“Nowadays it is completely different. Today, Real Madrid are the one that have to be concerned about facing City,” former Argentina international Tevez told City’s official website.
“This is the advantage that City now have. Today, the opponents have to look at what City are capable to do.
“With the players we have now and the infrastructure City have been building during the years we can fight as equals against any team in Europe.”
Tevez scored 58 times in 113 outings for City between 2009 and 2013 after swapping Manchester United for the blue side of the city, and he is delighted to see his old team competing at the highest level in Europe.
“It’s a 50/50 tie,” he said of the clash with Madrid. “I’m very happy to see City in this position, fighting against the greatest teams in Europe.
“It has not been possible to win the Champions League yet, but I think the most important thing is that after 10 years City are playing as equals against teams like Real Madrid and as it did on the last tie against Atletico.”
Tevez said such progress was “very gratifying”.
“We have gone from fighting in the middle of the league table to doing on an equal footing with the biggest [in Europe],” he said. “It is an achievement that we all must feel proud.”
Guardiola will be aiming to become the first manager to eliminate Madrid from the Champions League on three occasions, having previously done so with Barcelona in the 2010-11 semi-finals and at City in 2019-20.
