Manchester City vs Real Madrid LIVE: Score and latest updates as Mbappe returns with Guardiola demanding ‘perfect’ game in Champions League – UK Times

“This sport has taught us that a lot of things can happen in a football game even though the result in Madrid was really bad, but we will fight until the end knowing it’s going to be tough,” Bernardo Silva said ahead of the second leg.

“The opponent is a good one, the result was not good but at home a lot of things can happen especially here at the Etihad. We’re going to try to create that.

“We know what this team is capable of but this season we lack consistency. We know we can reach that level but we weren’t able to maintain the level for the right amount of games. If we’re on it tomorrow, we know that it’s possible.”

“We know and are very aware of the difficulty of the match and the opponent we have in front of us,” Arbeloa said. “Of the players, the coach, and the stadium where we are. We cannot have anything else in mind if we want to win the match, which is the goal. We have to perform at a very high level, at our best level, as in the first leg, even more so. That is the goal: to go out and aim for that performance, that level of commitment, solidarity, effort, sacrifice, and then cause them a lot of trouble, as we were able to do in the first leg.”

Jude Bellingham travelled with the Real Madrid squad to Manchester but is not yet able to be involved this evening after injury.

“Bellingham wanted to come with his team-mates,” Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa said.

“I’m very happy to see him getting closer to the team. It is important to be around his team-mates, during the team-talk and at half-time he’ll be one of the leaders as he always is.”

Pep Guardiola sprang some surprises last week and has provided some more today. Marc Guehi is dropped for the rematch with Real Madrid, which at least stops Fede Valverde juggling the ball over him to score. Antoine Semenyo is out, too. Tijjani Reijnders starts, which he probably should have done in the Bernabeu. It’s interesting, too, that Matheus Nunes is back and will be up against Vinicius Junior.

Only three times previously has a 3-0 first-leg deficit been overcome in the Champions League, with Manchester City looking to follow Deportivo la Coruna (against AC Milan), Roma and Liverpool (both against Barcelona) in completing a comeback.

Pep Guardiola freshens up his full-backs with Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri into the starting side.

Manchester City XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Rodri; Cherki, Silva, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland.

Kylian Mbappe is back on the bench for Real Madrid, with Fran Garcia in for the absent Ferland Mendy at left-back.

Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Garcia; Valverde, Thiago, Tchouameni; Guler, Diaz, Vinicius Jr.

We should get team news in the next little while, with plenty of eyes on what Pep Guardiola does after copping some flak for his selection in the Spanish capital.

Erling Haaland could be key to Manchester City’s hopes of turning the tie around, and Real defender Antonio Rudiger is relishing another contest with the Norway forward, with the pair having become familiar foes in recent years.

“Players like Haaland – it’s a huge pleasure to play against this type of player,” Rudiger said on the eve of the match in Manchester.

“I like the physical battle, I want it and need it, the same as him. I’m looking forward to it.

“He’s a world-class striker, very strong, and I like these type of duels.”

Rudiger acknowledged his combative approach as he addressed recent claims from Getafe defender Diego Rico about his conduct.

Rico said Rudiger committed an “assault” against him in a challenge earlier this month.

“In slow motion it looks terrible but in the action itself and also what the player said, it was like I almost killed him,” Rudiger said.

“He doesn’t need to exaggerate because if I’d had the intention to do that he wouldn’t have stood up.

“I don’t justify it but the way he spoke after the game was like I killed him, but he was running afterwards. We all know I like to be tough on the pitch but I still have boundaries. I am a human being.”

Rodri insisted that more dropped points were not the end of Manchester City’s title chances.