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Manuel Pellegrini Believes Real Madrid Are More Than Just Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is just one of many concerns for Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini in the Champions League semifinal at Real Madrid.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini will not worry solely about Cristiano Ronaldo after Real Madrid's star forward was declared fit for Wednesday's Champions League semifinal second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ronaldo missed last week's goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium with a hamstring strain but has recovered to take part in training with Madrid since Sunday and coach Zinedine Zidane declared the three-time Ballon d'Or winner to be "100 percent" fit.
Striker Karim Benzema will miss the match due to a hamstring complaint of his own, while holding midfielder Casemiro has a hip problem, but Pellegrini believes Madrid has plenty of means to worry his team outside of Ronaldo – a player he coached during his debut season in the Spanish capital in 2009-10.
Asked about Ronaldo's probable involvement, Pellegrini told a pre-match news conference: "I would tell him to stop [rest] tomorrow.
"Cristiano will always be a different player – he scores a lot of goals and has throughout his six years here. But I don't think Real are just Cristiano Ronaldo. We must work as a team, defending and attacking – not just against Ronaldo but against Real Madrid.
"Our motivation must be to reach a [Champions League] final, which we've never done before against a great team in a beautiful stadium."