Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti fearful of two Man City stars for second leg

But he admitted the nerves will start fraying on game day when he sends out his side to try and reach an incredible 22nd Champions League final. “Today I’m very calm, full of hope and faith,” he said. “Tomorrow, on game day, that’s when the worries come in and you think things through, whether Erling Haaland will score, Kevin de Bruyne will hurt you.

“You try to put it out of my mind, all about managing thoughts, but we are happy to be here and feeling good.” Real Madrid have reached the semi-final for the 11th time in 13 seasons and the Italian believes their experience in crunch matches could hand them an advantage over City.

He added: “It is a usual event to be in a semi-final. We have done it 11 years out of 13 – that’s not easy. Now bravery and courage are vital in games like this, individual quality can’t show if you aren’t brave enough to try stuff.”

Ancelotti insisted the history of Real Madrid will motivate but insisted his side will have to work hard if they are to get past a classy City side. The four-time European Cup-winning coach said: “If you think you are the best team in the world it doesn’t make it 100 per cent sure you’ll win, it’s not just quality in a semi-final, it can be personality, mentality, character, it’s not only quality.

“These games put you under huge pressure. If you’ve not got the character and personality have to get over the challenge. We will have moments when we suffer but that’s normal, if you can read them and come out, put your rival in difficulty after that.”

Luka Modric, who is aiming for a sixth Champions League with Real Madrid, believes being close to another final willl push his team-mates to the limit.  “Knowing you are close to another final, you want to give everything you’ve got,” he said.

“It can give you extra motivation, more than you think you are capable of. We are close to this target and close to doing something historic.”

Pep Guardiola meanwhile insisted his legacy at Manchester City is “exceptional” whether or not he adds the Champions League to list of achievements. The City boss maintained he would lose no sleep if bad luck or a better side leaves them facing another agonising exit. 

“My legacy is already exceptional,” he said smiling. “We have been here many times, we are not stupid to know how important it is, one of the most important, the competition, the rival.

“I’ve told the players to enjoy the moment, we are incredibly lucky to be here, it’s in our hands, depends on us, don’t have to do anything exceptional, win one game to reach the final, we’ll do everything to do that.

“We arrive in really good moment but we have to play better than Madrid game but all they have to do is what we’ve done for many years. We cannot deny we’ve won all the titles, we want it, of course, we have the desire. People say we are close, but they are the most difficult games.

“We know their quality but a semi-final against Real Madrid they are the toughest we could face, but this is the challenge, we embrace it and go for it. Nobody can assure us we will be here again next year, go for it from the first minute till the end, with our people we will be playing with 12 tomorrow.”