Emilio Butragueno has urged Real Madrid to be wary of Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals as they have “match-winners”.
Madrid were drawn against City during Friday’s draw in Nyon, prompting Txiki Begiristain to hint Los Blancos were favourites in the tie, but Butragueno is expecting a far-closer affair when the two sides meet.
“We’re talking about the semi-finals, so the equality will be big,” the PR guru said after Friday’s draw in Nyon.
“They have players who can win games by themselves, [Sergio] Aguero, [David] Silva … their motivation level will be very big.
“We have to play two games at a high level if we want reach Milan. We saw what happened in Germany.
“We lost concentration and conceded two goals. Against City, we have to be more vigilant.
“After the draw last year, it was said that we were lucky because we had eluded Bayern [Munich] and Barcelona, yet Juventus knocked us out.
“In the semi-finals, we can only talk about top teams. Therefore, we must play very well in these two games and that our players perform at their best.
“We both know that the two games will be very evenly matched. In principle, you may think that playing at home may pose some advantage.
“I’m interested in what Txiki has to say, but at this level every detail will be important.
“We must have faith in reaching the final, but it’ll be very, very difficult.”
