Steve Nicol has claimed that if he was Carlo Ancelotti, he would instruct the Real Madrid players to target one Manchester City star.
The pundit had stated that in his eyes, Los Blancos could exploit Ruben Dias in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
However, this time around, Nicol was not referring to Dias.
Considering City look bang in form, one questions whether any of their players could even be viewed as a weak link, also considering their pedigree at the highest level.
Perhaps some might make such a claim about Kyle Walker’s potential absence, with Craig Burley emphasising that it is “so important” that he starts on Wednesday.
Even so, Manuel Akanji dealt quite well with Rodrygo in what is a classic case of just a brilliant battle between a full-back and a winger.
The Brazilian international sure had his moments.
But so did Akanji, especially in the second half of the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Nicol says Real Madrid should target one City player in Champions League second leg
Pep Guardiola’s men are not only going to think about how Real Madrid could hurt them on Wednesday as well.
Of course, Guardiola and his staff will do their due diligence, as they do for every game.
However, City have their own threats that could give Los Merengues a headache too.
It is due to this very reason that this tie is viewed as a heavyweight battle.
Both teams are packed with quality, which makes it a difficult game to predict, especially after the first leg ended 3-3.
But Steve Nicol has stated that if he was Carlo Ancelotti, he would tell the Real Madrid players to make things difficult for Rodri after he recently admitted that he was tired [via the Daily Mail].
“If I’m [Carlo] Ancelotti and I’m Real Madrid, I’m thinking, ‘Okay, this guy’s tired, he’s saying it for a reason. Let’s get nice and tight and put him under some pressure.’ When you’re tired and you’re put under pressure, you just do everything a bit slower”, he said about the £62 million man [via ESPN FC].
“Your touch is just off, you think slower, everything just takes a little knock. So, if I’m Real Madrid, I’m absolutely going to be in this guy’s face. No question.”
