Man City star Erling Haaland fires five-word message after Real Madrid Champions League clash

Erling Haaland has responded to Manchester City's Champions League semi-final first-leg draw at Real Madrid with a message on the social media platform Instagram. "Half of the battle left," he wrote ahead of next week's return fixture at the Etihad.

City played out a six-goal thriller with 14-time winners of the competition at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night as goals from Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol saw Pep Guardiola's side fight from 2-1 down to claim an admirable 3-3 draw.

Next Wednesday's second leg in East Manchester will evoke memories of last year's semi-final demolishing of Carlo Ancelotti's side, who were thrashed 4-0 at the Etihad after a first-leg draw in the Spanish capital as City made mammoth strides en route to a first Champions League triumph.

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However, Haaland, kept quiet by Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Rudiger at the Bernabeu, has issued a battle cry to his City team-mates and supporters ahead of Wednesday night's tie.

"Half of the battle left," wrote the City No.9 on Instagram on Wednesday night, the caption accompanied by a collection of photos from Tuesday's six-goal thriller.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola praised the way his side fought back from 2-1 down after an own goal from Ruben Dias was quickly followed by Rodrygo putting the home side ahead.

"This result or this game in the few three seasons together, we would have lost 4-1 or 5-1," said Guardiola. "We were not stable emotional. One of the key points in these games is being stable emotionally. It's fundamental.

"Hopefully, in the future