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Lucas Vazquez
Jose luis Morales competes for the ball with Lucas Vazquez - Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

Lucas Vazquez says he is confident in his own ability and has thanked boss Zinedine Zidane for giving him an opportunity in the first team in recent weeks.

The winger featured in the 0-0 draw with Manchester City in the Champions League semi final first leg on Tuesday having scored in his previous two appearances for the side in La Liga.

Vazquez, who rejoined the club from Espanyol last summer, was more a bit-part player until Zidane took over in January but has slowly established himself as in important member of the first team squad at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Talking to the club website, the winger stated: “It’s no use being afraid of anything, and even less so in the world of football. If you trust in your ability, things will work out well. The coach is the one who makes the decisions and I’m very grateful for the opportunities that he’s giving me. Long may it continue.”

Asked about his side’s chances of qualifying for the final, he commented: “It’s a shame about the chances from the two corners, but we go away feeling positive. Clearly, the 0-0 is a bit misleading. They make it difficult for us if they get a goal, but we know if we win the match at the Bernabéu we’ll go through, and that’s our goal”.

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Sergio Ramos

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos says the team needed to concentrate for the entire 90 minutes against Manchester City on Tuesday.

Los Blancos emerged with a 0-0 draw from their trip to the Etihad Stadium and know that a win in front of their home fans next week in the second leg will take them to the final in Milan in May.

Real were less adventurous than in previous games with Cristiano Ronaldo absent through injury and Karim Benzema taken off during the game.

From a defensive side, the 10-time winners looked strong as they secured their ninth shut out in the competition this season.

In quotes published on the club website, Ramos said the players had to give their all for the entire match.

“In the second half we were more comfortable and had more of the ball, although we were unable to score. I focus on the attitude of the team, who despite the injuries we had, have stood up tall. These types of games demand a lot of concentration because small mistakes define knock-out ties. The team tried to do damage on the counter attack, especially in the second half with more precision,” he said.

Asked about Ronaldo and whether his absense was keenly felt, Ramos commented: “He’s fundamental for us and we know how important it is for him to be out on the pitch but we’ve got a great squad and whoever plays does a good job. He would have liked to get to this stage of the season in the best possible fashion, but there are players who have had less minutes who come out and show fight.”

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Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos says he is confident Los Blancos can reach the Champions League final after drawing the first leg of their semi final clash in Manchester.

Without the services of Cristiano Ronaldo who missed out through injury and having to play the second half without Karim Benzema too, Real left the Etihad Stadium having drawn 0-0 and know a win in front of their fans next week will take them through to the final in Milan.

Zinedine Zidane’s men had the better of the second half and could indeed have scored a valuable away goal.

But talking to the media after the final whistle, German international Kroos said his is sure the team can finish off the job at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“We had more chances in the second half and we played a lot better. We’re not completely satisfied. There were three opportunities to win the game. It would have been significant if we’d scored but now we have to focus on winning the next game,” he said.

He added: “Manchester City are a good team but we’re playing at the Bernabéu and we believe we can win the tie. It doesn’t matter who the favourite is. The winner will be in the final. Everyone knows we’re good at home, we showed that in the quarters and we hope to do so again on Wednesday.”

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Keylor Navas says the Real Madrid players are pleased with another clean sheet after the 0-0 draw with Manchester City on Tuesday.

Los Blancos had the chances to come away with a vital away win but in the had to be satisfied with a draw and need to win at the Santiago Bernabeu in the return leg if they are to secure a place in the Champions League final in Milan next month.

The clean sheet was the team’s 9th in the competition this season and Navas said after the game that one more will help a long way in getting the team into the final.

“We all wanted to win the match, it was important for us, but it’s always good to keep a clean sheet. We’ll have to try and do the same at home and win the game. At the Bernabéu, we’ll have to give everything to get to the final. Winning is the only way to do that,” he commented.

He added: “We had to manage the game. Manchester City came out strongly and we didn’t want to make any mistakes. We slowly began to take control of the match and did so until the end. The team did a good job, everyone was focussed and very well organised in defence, and thanks to that we avoided too many problems.”

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Pepe GI

Real Madrid defender Pepe says the players will do all they can to ensure their fans are happy the Santiago Bernabeu when they take on Manchester City in the second leg of the Champions League semi final.

Los Blancos secured a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening and will try and qualify for the showpiece final next week when they host the Premier League side.

The first half in Manchester was a fairly quiet affair but Real had the better of the chances in the second period and will be disappointed to have failed to find the back of the net.

Talking to journalists after the match, Pepe stated: “In the first half we were weighing each other up, but in the second half we were the stronger side. We knew that we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. They started strongly, but we dealt with their counter-attacks and we had quite a lot of possession. In the second half, the flow of the game changed, we were the ones calling the shots and constantly going in search of the goal, which unfortunately we didn’t manage to get.”

Discussing the return leg in Madrid, the Portuguese commented: “We showed that as a team we have a lot of character and that we want to go far in the Champions League. There’s one game to come at home and we’re going to win it in front of our own fans to make them happy.”

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Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane admits he is pleased with his side’s performance in the stalemate against Manchester City but says he feels they could have got more to take back to the Spanish capital.

Without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and shorn of the services of Karim Benzema in the second half, Los Blancos held out for a 0-0. The 10-time winners had the better of the chances in the second period however and City had Joe Hart to thank for ensuring City go to the Santiago Bernabeu with the tie all square.

Speaking at his press conference afterwards, Zidane said: “I’m pleased with the game because it wasn’t easy. We defended very well and in the second half we had more of the ball and chances to score. I’m a bit disappointed because we deserved more, but we were very good defensively. It was a hard-fought game.

“We could have scored, but getting a goal doesn’t guarantee a place in the final. We’re halfway through the tie. We’ve got the next game at home and we know what we’re capable of doing at the Bernabéu. We’ll have to work like we did today.”

The boss was also quizzed about the fitness of Ronaldo and Benzema, and responded by saying: “I said that they were 100% fit, but that we’d have to see how they did in the last training session, Cristiano Ronaldo felt something and so he didn’t play. The issue with Karim was a bit different, but it was gradually getting worse and we didn’t want to risk him. They’re two important players and we hope that they’re back for the second leg. We’ll take it day-by- day and look at it with the doctors.”

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Sergio Aguero

Real Madrid played a brilliant second half at the Etihad Stadium but failed to score a goal to beat Manchester City in the first leg of the semifinals of the Champions League.

Los Blancos missed Cristiano Ronaldo, who failed a late fitness test, and also saw Karim Benzema leave the pitch injured at half-time.

Despite all these problems, Zinedine Zidane men dominated City in the second half and had several chances to get the victory, but Joe Hart made two amazing saves to prevent Los Merengues from scoring.

In the first half, the hosts were a bit brighter, exerting a high pressure on their rival and forcing Los Merengues to make several mistakes.

Yet, Pepe and Sergio Ramos were superb, and the Citizens barely had any real chances to score. Kevin De Bruyne fired the hosts’ most dangerous shot in the first half, but Daniel Carvajal blocked it.

Right before the break, Pepe found Benzema inside the Manchester City box, but the Frenchman could only fire over the crossbar.

Los Blancos were more attacking in the second half as they started to move the ball from left to right. However, they didn’t have a serious opportunity to score until in the last 15 minutes.

Casemiro came close to scoring as he met a corner from Toni Kroos and headed to the bottom corner, but Joe Hart was brilliant to save it with his left foot.

Real Madrid had a wonderful chance a couple of minutes later as Pepe found himself unmarked inside the box, but the Portuguese shot straight at Hart.

In the last minutes, both teams seemed to be happy with the goalless draw and focussed on defending.

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Gareth Bale says Real Madrid need to impose themselves on Manchester City this evening and have learned their lessons from the disastrous first leg against Wolfsburg in the quarter final of the Champions League.

Los Blancos slipped to a shock 2-0 defeat in Germany and had Cristiano Ronaldo to thank for saving their bacon in the return leg when the Portuguese scored a remarkable hat trick to help his side to the semi finals.

Bale, back in England for a club game for the first time since signing for Real Madrid, told a press conference on Monday evening that the 10-time winners can expect a tough match and need to be at their best.

“We’re confident and we’ll be going out to win. In Wolfsburg we had a tough time of things, but we’ve looked at our mistakes and we’ve got to impose ourselves and try to win the game. If we play with togetherness and as a team, we’ve got a great chance of going through,” he said.

And he added: “You don’t get this far on luck, and any of the teams would have been difficult. We’re excited and are looking forward to it. I’m surprised that they haven’t got to this stage before now. They are a top Premier League team and are getting that way in Europe. They’ve worked very hard, but tomorrow we want to halt their rise.”

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Manchester City host Real Madrid the first leg of the Champions League semi final tonight with Los Blancos looking to take a positive result back to the Spanish capital next week.

The 10-time winners of the competition know they must play better than they did in the first leg of the quarter final when they lost 2-0 to Wolfsburg. Although they showed remarkable fighting spirit to come back in the second leg, and indeed to come back from 2-0 down against Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, they need to take the game to City and put the Etihad Stadium side under pressure from the off.

The Citizens are making their first appearance at the semi final stage and their only encounters with Madrid in this tournament previously ended with a draw and a defeat. Their league form has been patchy this season but they did win the Carling Cup and will look to end the season on a high.

Los Blancos seem to be in the groove right now having hauled themselves back into contention in La Liga with three games to go.

In terms of team news, the hosts will be without influential midfielder Yaya Toure although seasoned defender Vincent Kompany is fit to take his place in the team.

For Real, Cristiano Ronaldo will be back in the side having sat out the win over Rayo. Gareth Bale will be making his return to England at club level for the first time but there are doubts over the fitness of Karim Benzema.

Probable line ups:
Manchester City: Joe Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; Silva, Navas, De Bruyne; Aguero
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Ronaldo, James, Bale

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Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane says his players must give 150% in tonight’s Champions League semi final first leg against Manchester City.

Los Blancos visit the Etihad Stadium needing to get a positive result to bring back to the Santiago Bernabeu next week.

The team is in fine form at the moment having hauled themselves back into contention in La Liga and will be hopeful of continuing their quest to win La Undecima.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of the match, the Frenchman told reporters that the players know what is expected of them this evening. He added that the atmosphere in the squad now reminds him of two years ago when the won La Decima.

“The important thing in a semi-final is that you give 150%. Anything can happen in a game of football. You can prepare for it well, but it then the game turns out differently to how you thought it would. There are two games to come, first up we’ve got tomorrow’s game, and we’ll give our all here against a tough opposition at a tricky ground,” he commented.

He added: “The players are focused on winning. There was the same atmosphere within the Décima-winning squad, and I can see that these players are focused on this major challenge, but at the same time we know that it won’t be easy.”

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