Manchester City will return to the Bernabeu on Monday with the confidence of a team that knows they can win the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola's side may have only managed a draw last year in Madrid, but Kevin De Bruyne's equaliser set them up perfectly for the 4-0 annihilation at the Etihad that put them on the path to their first European Cup.
In fighting back when it was needed in that first leg, it banished a lot of the pain of the previous year when they had been minutes away from a place in the final only to concede two goals in injury time and crumble in extra time.
City's resolve in 2023 was also far removed from their semi-final under Manuel Pellegrini seven years earlier. While largely remembered for moving away from the fractious management of Roberto Mancini and creating a swashbuckling team that swept to the Premier League title in 2014, Pellegrini also made important strides in Europe. ALSO READ: PALACE ALSO READ: PALACE In his first season, he broke new ground by qualifying from the Champions League groups for the first time in City's history.
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