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Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger said it is “a pleasure” to face Erling Haaland ahead of the Champions League last-16 clash against Manchester City on Tuesday, after keeping the star striker quiet in last week’s first leg at the Bernabeu.
Haaland had just 10 touches, and no shots, in the match in Madrid, and was substituted in the 82nd minute as City were beaten 3-0 thanks to a Federico Valverde hat-trick.
The Premier League star has sometimes struggled against Madrid, failing to score when the teams met in 2023 and 2024, although he did find the net twice in City’s 3-2 loss to Madrid in February 2025, and converted a penalty when City won 2-1 in the league stage this season.
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“I don’t think too much about things like statistics,” Rüdiger said at a press conference in Manchester on Monday (via ESPN). “In the group stage match, [Haaland] He surpassed me… With players like Erling Haaland, it is a great pleasure to play against them. “I like physical battle.”
“I have faced him many times and he is a top-level player,” Rüdiger added. “I like these types of duels… I think it’s great to play against him. And he seems like a good guy.”
