18th September, 2012
Jose Mourinho has warned Manchester City that Real Madrid will be “at our best” when they face them at the Bernabeu in their opening UEFA Champions League group game tonight.
The Spanish champions are reeling from a poor start to the season that continued with Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Sevilla, which left them eight points behind the leaders, Barcelona.
“To play against City motivates me as much as playing against Getafe,” said Mourinho. “To win the Champions League motivates me like any other match. Motivation is something intrinsic to the job. The conviction is that on Tuesday (today), we will have a team. A determined, compact and solid team. I will try to field the team that I think will show up. Maybe we won’t be as relaxed, or filled with the same conviction and confidence we usually have against an opponent like City, coming off a game which was terrible. I’m sure we’ll be at our best,” he said.
Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, is however unfazed by the prospect of coming up against the history and world-class talents of Real. City’s historic credentials pale in comparison to those of their illustrious opponents but Mancini sees no reason why the reigning Barclays Premier League champions should be cowed by the nine-time European title-winners.
The Italian said: “Our mentality is not to go there – to Madrid or anywhere – for a draw, or to lose. We want to win always. But we know it will be a tough game. We play against one of the best teams in the world, but we want to do our job well.
“I think it will be a fantastic game and a fantastic moment for everyone at the club. But when you play Champions League, every team is a top team, every game is difficult.
“If you play against Real or Barca, you are up against 100 years of history. They have won everything. For this reason, I also think it will be difficult.”