Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that his side can get the better of Real Madrid in their UEFA Women’s Champions League Round 1 final tie if they get the finer details right.
The Cityzens have been dumped out of the UEFA Women’s Champions League in each of the last four seasons by Spanish opposition. They were defeated 2-1 on aggregate by Real Madrid in Round 2 of last season’s competition.
The pressure is on Manchester City to finally end their Spanish hoodoo this time around but head coach Taylor has complete confidence in his players, knowing that they can get the job done if they perform to their best levels.
“We can win by doing what we do well,” Taylor said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “They’ve got some decent players and a decent threat but I think when you look at what we have, if we take care of what we do well and get the small details right, we’re a match for anyone.”
Taylor went on to say that Manchester City have done some homework on Real Madrid including reviewing last year’s games but the main focus is on the present.
He said “We have looked at the recent footage, the game last season was two completely different teams. There have been a lot of new signings for Madrid and a lot of new signings for us and it is about players settling really quickly into a very short period of pre-season.
“Again, this game has come really, really early for both teams. There are some bits that we can look at from the past but it is about focusing on now. The reality is that the playing personnel has changed a lot.”
Real Madrid forward Esther González netted four goals in her side’s 6-0 victory over Sturm Graz in the semi-finals. Manchester City are not planning to give any special treatment to the player according to Taylor.
“Both teams will be really aware of each other’s threats, Madrid looking at what we do really well and us with them,” Taylor said. “We try not to focus too much on single players.
“We are aware of their strengths but it is about what we do and how we impact the game. If we do what we do, it should in-turn nullify their threats.”
Manchester City’s UEFA Women’s Champions League Round 1 final tie against Real Madrid kicks-off at 8pm on Sunday evening.
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