What Man City expect from Real Madrid in Champions League semi-final

Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final win over Chelsea shows that Manchester City must be at their very best to beat them in the semi-finals, says Aymeric Laporte.

City battled past a stubborn Atletico Madrid side, and return to the Spanish capital next month after being drawn against Real in the semi-finals. While there was just one goal in City's quarter final, Real shared nine goals with Chelsea in an entertaining clash that went to extra time.

The attacking display from Real in particular was another reminder of their enduring threats, and Laporte says City must build on their performance against Atletico and be at their best in the next round to reach the final. “All the games we play in the Champions League help us to learn and to grow as a team," he said.

"We haven't played our best game in the second half [at Atletico], but we learn from our experience in previous occasions how to keep the result and go through to the next round. I think we have matured as a team and we have worked well as a team. We have suffered in the last minutes of the game, but we have done the things well and kept a clean sheet. I'm very pleased with the team performance and so happy to go through to the semi-finals.”

“We expect a very tough game [against Real Madrid]. We know exactly what they have done in this competition. They have done unbelievable matches in the last days. It is unbelievable but we have to keep improving and practice our work like in the last few years.

"We have done very well and I am sure we can beat them. It's always difficult playing a Champions League semi-final regardless of the opponent. We will have to fight hard as usual and we will try to go through to another final.

"We know them [Real]. We have