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Manchester City's Jesus Navas, Fernando, David Silva and Kelechi Iheanacho line up before the game - Action Images via Reuters
Reuters: Until this season Manchester City’s progression in the Champions League could be measured in baby steps but on Tuesday they can make a huge leap forward when they host Real Madrid in their first European semi-final for 45 years.
The Abu Dhabi-backed English club have already broken new ground this season, moving past the last 16 stage that proved their limit for the past two seasons having failed even to survive the group stage prior to that.
In seeing off Paris St Germain, who have similar financial muscle, in the quarter-finals they delivered a powerful statement of intent to reach their first semi-final since a European Cup Winners’ Cup defeat by Chelsea in 1971. They also kept alive the intriguing possibility of a Milan final against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, whose manager Pep Guardiola will take over the Manchester City hot seat from former Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini next season.
First, however, City’s defence must find a way of keeping Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema quiet at their Etihad Stadium so as to arrive at their opponents’ Santiago Bernabeu fortress with something tangible to hang on to.
Ronaldo has scored 47 times this season, including 16 in just 10 Champions League appearances, but Pellegrini says he knows how to stop the Portuguese goal machine.
“I knew all about him from (my team) playing (against) Manchester United when I was at Villarreal,” Pellegrini said.
“We played them four times in the Champions League and each time it was 0-0, so defensively we must have been doing something right.” While City’s recent form has been on the rise, if a little late to stop the Premier League’s fairytale title hunters Leicester City, Real have been almost unstoppable of late as they try and chase down Barcelona in La Liga. Since the beginning of March Zinedine Zidane’s side have won nine La Liga games in a row and even when they suffered a hiccup in a 2-0 defeat by Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarter-final they responded with a 3-0 home victory.
Reuters: Crystal Palace set up a repeat of the 1990 FA Cup final against Manchester United after Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham securd a 2-1 victory over Watford at Wembley on Sunday.
Bolasie headed in Yohan Cabaye’s corner to put Palace in front after six minutes and they should have built on their advantage before halftime against a lacklustre Watford.
Troy Deeney sparked the semi-final into life with Watford’s equaliser nine minutes after halftime but they were only level for seven minutes.
Wickham stretched to meet a cross from Pape Souare and his header flew beyond the reach of flat-footed Watford keeper Costel Pantilimon who was slow to react.
