Mario Melchiot has claimed that one Real Madrid player could be a big problem for one particular Manchester City figure tonight.
After beating Copenhagen in the round of 16, the Blues will have to beat Real over two legs to secure their place in the semi-finals of this season’s Champions League.
With Pep Guardiola’s side set to take on the Spanish club at the Santiago Bernabeu this evening for their first-leg showdown in the quarter-finals, one pundit has picked out one figure in Carlo Ancelotti’s side that may cause trouble for one of City’s star players.
Pundit names one Real Madrid player that could be a problem for one Man City star
Speaking in a recent video shared on the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Melchiot had this to say about Erling Haaland and the one Real player that could be a problem for him tonight.
He said: “The interesting part, when I saw him playing against Arsenal, for example, Gabriel and [William] Saliba did a great job physically in the way they played.
“I feel that when he faces [Antonio] Rudiger, it will be an interesting battle again.
“Sometimes when he goes face to face with people who don’t have the fear to go against him, because everybody almost has it, but the ones that don’t have it, they are willing to go toe to toe, and I feel like this might be the guy again.
“Rudiger is going toe to toe, regardless of if he’s that good, but he might just go at it.”
It’s not just Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior that Man City may have to worry about
Even though Real have the likes of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior in their ranks, who have scored a combined total of seven goals in the Champions League this season, it’s interesting to see that Melchiot thinks it’s Rudiger that could be a problem for City.
Looking back over the previous meeting between the two clubs at the Bernabeu, which saw City draw 1-1 with Ancelotti’s side, Haaland managed to have two shots on target but was unable to find the back of the net.
From Rudiger’s point of view, he made three clearances across the 90 minutes but was only able to win two of the six duels he was involved in.
This season has seen the German feature in all but one of Real’s eight Champions League games, completing the full 90 minutes on six occasions.
Across those six games, the 31-year-old has made more clearances (22) and blocks (13) than any other player at the club.
This makes it easy to see why Melchiot thinks the former Chelsea defender could be a tough opponent for Haaland to get the better of on this occasion.
Read more: Real Madrid vs Man City: TV channel, kick-off time, team news
