Eduardo Camavinga reckons Real Madrid ’s defenders made light work of keeping Manchester City hotshot Erling Haaland at bay last week.
And as the two teams prepare for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Etihad on Wednesday, the young Frenchman wants a carbon copy performance from Antonio Rudiger and Co to help ensure it’s the Spanish giants rather than England’s top team which wins through.
Camavinga said: “Our defenders demonstrated that it is possible to stop Haaland and without a hard game on the pitch. Now we need to repeat that work in the Etihad.
“Haaland is not the unique problem for us against City. In Madrid, Kevin De Bruyne scored — another excellent footballer. But I am convinced we will score in England. We won against Chelsea and Liverpool, and it’s feasible that we can beat City as well.
“We will go to Manchester with high morale. A scoreline of 1-1 i s not so bad although, logically, we would have preferred to have at least a goal advantage.
“And the final score at the Bernabeu was not just. We deserved to win and a result of 2-1 would have been the right reward for our performance and the chances we created.”
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Goals galore were predicted over the course of two legs but that wasn’t the case last week. And while there are monstrous attacking players on both sides, from Haaland to Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, Camavinga believes the whole tie will be decided by which defence does its job the best.
He added: “In Madrid, the match was very tactical. Many people believed it would be a match with lots of goals but we are convinced the key to victory lies within the defensive lines.
“Now it’s 50-50. City have a big advantage because of the home factor but Real Madrid is a team which is able to win in any football stadium.
“The pressure in the stadium will be with City but we must also be at our maximum because we are the champions and we are defending the title. We reject the idea that Wednesday will be the end of the road in the Champions League for us this season.”
Team-mate David Alaba added: “In Madrid, we showed that it is possible to stop Haaland. Now it is more complicated because City are at home but we are optimistic and we are not obsessed with Haaland.
“Manchester City have a sensational squad, just like Real Madrid. I expect a tactical match but the panorama of the game will change whichever team opens the scoring. That will be key.
“Now it is City who are obliged to take more risks because they are at home. That’s maybe a little advantage for us.”
