Manuel Akanji confident Manchester City can beat Real Madrid or Bayern Munich
Manuel Akanji confident Manchester City can beat Real Madrid or Bayern Munich
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Manuel Akanji insists Manchester City have nothing to fear from Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. City will face one of those two European heavyweights in the Champions League next month after scraping through to the play-off round on Wednesday. The 2023 winners had been in danger of elimination after falling behind in their must-win final league phase match against Club Brugge at the Etihad Stadium but rallied to win 3-1.
Defeat would have seen City miss out on the knockout stages for the first time since 2012-13 but, after just making the cut in 22nd place, Akanji feels they can now look forward with confidence. The Switzerland defender said: “We’re definitely ready. Obviously they’re not the teams you want to face but whoever it is we’re looking forward to the challenge and I think we can beat every team in Europe.
“Even though we didn’t play as good as we used to, I think no team wants to face us. I don’t know what’s going on in their heads but whoever comes we’re ready for the challenge.”. City went into the game knowing only victory would be enough to prolong their latest European campaign.
We're definitely ready. Obviously they're not the teams you want to face but whoever it is we're looking forward to the challenge and I think we can beat every team in Europe. Having started the competition as one of the favourites, City had found themselves in this predicament after a calamitous sequence of results and performances including defeats to Sporting Lisbon, Juventus and Paris St Germain and a draw with Feyenoord.
