Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday his team played without courage or personality when Manchester City knocked them out of the Champions League last season, ahead of another showdown with the English champions. 

5-1 drubbing in 2023

Pep Guardiola’s side thrashed Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in last season’s semi-finals and Ancelotti called on his players to show more mental strength this time around. Record 14-time winners Madrid host reigning champions City at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday in a mouthwatering quarter-final first leg clash. “We played without courage, without personality—courage and personality are fundamental in this type of game, we lacked them in the second leg,” Ancelotti told a news conference.