When Real Madrid take on Manchester City on Tuesday night, Gareth Bale says the Spanish giants will look to tackle the fixture across two legs.
Making sure the tie isn’t beyond their reach after the initial 90 minutes is a concept that has escaped Madrid in recent years, losing four of their last five semi-final first legs, as well as this year’s quarter-final with Wolfsburg.
“We went over the Wolfsburg game and we know we have to play with more patience,” spoke the Welshman, “the two games are back and forth, you have to be ready to attack and defend at all times.
“No matter who you face in the semi-finals, it will be very complicated and this game will be difficult.
“We are confident now, we did not play well in Wolfsburg, but we have to go out and play our game to win.”
On his first match back in England since leaving for Madrid in 2014, Bale is remaining focussed on the game and continuing his good run of form for Los Blancos.
“I feel good to be back in England,” continued Bale, “although I didn’t miss the cold.
“I’m really excited for tomorrow’s game. I don’t have anything to prove, I enjoy my football, we play our game and try to win by many goals.
“We expect a tough game, the first leg is usually more complex, with less chances, but hopefully we’ll continue scoring.”