8th April, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Real Madrid defender, Antonio Rüdiger, has said dealing with “super striker” Erling Haaland in their Champions League quarter-final clash with Manchester City is “personal”.
Los Blancos will be seeking revenge on City, who dumped them out from last season’s competition.
Rüdiger handled Haaland well in last year’s semi-final first leg, which finished 1-1 at the Bernabéu.
But he was benched for the return leg at the Etihad, which ended in a comfortable 4-0 victory for City.
“It was a good game last year at the Bernabéu,” Rüdiger said in a pre-match news conference ahead of Tuesday’s match.
“We all did a great job keeping Haaland quiet that evening. And my teammates did a good job keeping [Kevin] De Bruyne quiet.
“This time, the plan will be to control dangerous players like Phil Foden, De Bruyne, and Haaland… It’s personal for me as a defensive player, against a super striker like Haaland.”