Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Tuesday, 10 March 2026, 15:55 / Updated on Tuesday, 10 March 2026 15:56
Alvaro Arbeloa (43 years old), the coach of Real Madrid, held the press conference prior to the duel at home with Manchester City, the round of the play-offs for the “eights” of the Champions League. The game was scheduled for Wednesday, March 11, starting at 10:00 p.m.
He has high expectations from the game and has stated that he needs a fit Vinicius, especially with star Kylian Mbappe unavailable due to injury.
Alvaro Arbeloa, statements before Real Madrid – Manchester City: “We never feel inferior to anyone”
“Are we always favourites? We are Real Madrid and we never feel inferior to anyone. Tomorrow we face a strong opponent, whom we know very well and we know how difficult it is to face them. But we will, looking him in the eye.
It will be a difficult but exciting match and highly anticipated by the fans. We will enter the field to win and we will be very motivated. The Champions League is important to all of us. It's motivating to experience a round of 16 in the Champions League, to experience an evening like tomorrow.
It's a special moment. Would a draw be a good result? We enter the field to win. It will be a great experience and I really want to win this match. We have to pay a lot of attention to the opponents. They have many very good players individually, but they also know how to play as a team“, said Arbeloa, according to sportal.bg.
The Madrid technician then also provided some information about the team's situation.
“Mbappe's knee? It's much better, everything is analyzed day by day. This whole week has been very positive and he's back ready to work.
Vinicius? It is very important when he is on the field. We have a lot of injured players and he is becoming more and more important to the team. He is our attacking strength and we need the best version of him if we want to knock out Manchester City.
Camavinga is much better and ready for tomorrow's match. In Vigo, our young players were not scared, and many of them can help us a lot,” said the coach of Real Madrid.
