Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor believes Manchester City should win their Champions League round of 16 tie against Real Madrid. The Cityzens won 2-1 during the first leg at the Bernabeu in February and they are now in the driving seat to make the last eight of the competition, considering Los Blancos need at least two goals to stay alive in the contest.
Speaking to AS, Adebayor said that Los Blancos would have been able to turnaround the tie with Cristiano Ronaldo in their squad, but without his presence, they face a stiff challenge of overcoming the deficit at the Etihad Stadium, he told the Spanish publication: “If you had asked me that question two years ago, I would have said yes.
“Madrid would have been favourite with Cristiano. Back then, they had Cristiano who is a goal machine. He can make the difference at any moment and he would give a team 50 goals a season. They lost the first leg at home, at the Bernabeu 1-2, and it’s going to be very difficult with the fans, against Manchester City, the city, the weather… but it’s not impossible.”
Los Blancos go into the second leg without the presence of influential captain Sergio Ramos, who is suspended after the red card during the reverse fixture. Elsewhere, there are doubts over the fitness of Eden Hazard, who has just made a recovery from a troublesome right ankle. Karim Benzema, who has bagged 25 goals during the current campaign, should remain the key player for Los Blancos against City, given Ramos remains the only other one, who has reached double figures in terms of scoring this season.
The 13-time European champions recently ended their league season on a strong note with 10 wins and one draw from the final 11 games. That saw them win the title comfortably over Barcelona, who were largely inconsistent after the restart.