The Spanish newspapers wasted no time in building the tension towards Real Madrid’s Champions League showdown with Manchester City after picturing striker Erling Haaland alongside the headline: “The Ogre is coming.”
Madrid-based newspaper AS stoked the flames on a rivalry that doesn’t need any more fuel added, following last season’s dramatic semi-final encounter that saw Madrid triumph 6-5 on aggregate after a dramatic second leg at the Etihad settled only in the 85th minute by a Karim Benzema penalty.
City have not played down the seriousness of the tie with the two teams set to meet at the same stage this season, with Bernardo Silva talking up the “revenge” mission that he and his team-mates will on when the first leg gets under way in two weeks’ time.
With a Milan derby between AC Milan and Internazionale in the other semi-final, the last-four of the Champions League promises fireworks and drama aplenty – and if the Spanish media have anything to do with it they will not hesitate in provoking a response from City and, in particular, Haaland.
What have the Spanish papers said?
AS elected to publish a poster picture of Haaland celebrating at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on Wednesday night after scoring a penalty that put City four goals to the good on aggregate.
With Haaland pressing his finger to his face in an effort to silence the Munich fans who booed and jeered him throughout the night – thanks to his past ties with their Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund – the paper published the headline “Viene el Ogro”, translating to “the Ogre is coming”.
The front page also flagged that the tie will see yet another reunion between Guardiola and Madrid, who battled intensely during the former midfielder’s time as Barcelona manager.
AS also elected to publish an article about the prospect of Haaland joining Madrid in the near future, with the reigning Spanish Liga champions understood to be keen on signing the Norwegian after failing to land Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
“Madrid already knows the path it must take to convince Haaland,” writes Marco Ruiz of AS. “Because it has already done it in the past. The Norwegian kept the door of the white club open until shortly before taking the step of signing for City. It is usually a recurring strategy in Madrid, keeping the situation of signing a player open even if this does not happen in the end. And do it in the end.”
Pep Guardiola made no attempt to play down Madrid’s dominance in the Champions League, having won five titles in under a decade. “Yesterday I read that Real Madrid has gone to 11 semi-finals in 13 years. Chapó.
“We have gone to three semi-finals in a row and we think it’s incredible. All the teams have the feeling that if you want to win the Champions League you have to call yourself Real Madrid. Before it was the Barcelona and now it’s Real Madrid.”
But Silva was far more bullish.
“We know it’s always difficult against Real Madrid in this competition, but we’re going for everything, that’s for sure. We always do. I think the team is very, very confident right now… and I think we’ll get through.
“Last year there was a lot of frustration because of how we lost. It is a competition that this club loves very much and we have the opportunity to go and win against Madrid. We know of their quality in this competition especially.”
Asked if City would be out for revenge, the Portuguese midfielder said: “Of course, I’m sure it will. It was hard to lose that way. More than revenge, there’s a desire to win this final. It’s something we want to give to our fans and our management.”
