Los Blancos’ Rudiger claims battle with Haaland personal

Antonio Rüdiger revealed dealing with “super forward” Erling Haaland in Los Blancos UCL ¼ final with the Sky Blues is “personal” for him as a defender, as the Spanish giants look for revenge for City eliminating them from the past edition of the tournament.

Antonio dealt well with the Norwegian striker in last year’s ½ final 1^st leg – which ended in a 1-1 draw in Madrid but the German defender missed the 2^nd leg in England which ended with a 4-0 victory for Pep Guardiola’s side.

“It was a great match in the past season at the Bernabéu,” Rüdiger shared with the media ahead of tomorrow’s game. “We all did our jobs to stop Haaland from scoring that night. And we also shut Kevin De Bruyne in that game.

“However, now we must them again with an addition of  Phil Foden, who is playing phenomenally this season.”

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Rüdiger added that it is personal for him as a defender to show his best against the best players in the world.

🗣️ Antonio Rüdiger: "Carlo Ancelotti doesn't have to apologize to me for what benching me in Manchester last year, he had an idea so I respect him even if I didn't like the decision." pic.twitter.com/X5RSVKAAnN

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) April 8, 2024