'I know how far I can go' - Antonio Rudiger opens up on battle with Man City's Erling Haaland

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger admits he was calm about being tasked with stopping Erling Haaland when the Spanish giants went toe-to-toe with Manchester City last season.

It was a memorable campaign for Pep Guardiola and his star-studded City squad in Europe and beyond as they got their hands on a historic treble. Haaland, 23, played a lead role in that success.

After swapping Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund for the Etihad Stadium last summer, the Norway striker netted 52 goals in 53 games to more than repay the £51million paid for his signature. However, while City swept aside Real over two legs, Haaland drew a rare Champions League blank against them.

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In the first leg of their semi-final showdown, Kevin De Bruyne scored a crucial equaliser for City in a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu as goals from Bernardo Silva (2), Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez settled the scores in that eye-catching 4-0 win during the return leg. Despite keeping Haaland quiet in the first leg, Rudiger was only on the bench when the second game got underway.

By the time he was introduced, City were already two goals to the good and the damage had been done. So what was it like to mark Haaland with such intense media scrutiny around their particular match-up?

During an interview with GQ - via Spanish publication AS - former Chelsea defender Rudiger said: "I was absolutely calm. I know how far I can go if I am at 100 per cent both physically and mentally.

"A circumstance was created that I love. The days before, the media wondered if I was going to be able to defend Haaland, there were a lot of doubts in the atmosphere and if I'm honest, I love that atmosphere. I