Former England players Joleon Lescott and Rio Ferdinand have heaped praise on German defender Antonio Rudiger.
Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the first-leg of their Champions League semi-final clash, after goals from Vinicius Jr and Kevin De Bruyne.
Speaking after full-time, former Man United and England defender Rio Ferdinand said: ‘Militao is normally the first choice centre-back but he was out so Rudiger comes in.
‘If you were going to ask any player to come in in European football at the moment, I probably would have said for aggression, application, the way he enjoys that physical element of the game.
‘That’s what we’ve been saying about Haaland in the Premier League, who’s been willing to take him and have a 1 v 1 battle and be confident the way Rudiger was today?
‘He was excellent and clever as well at times. He made one great block in the second half. I think you’ve got to be aggressive with Haaland. I still don’t think they nullified him completely but I thought today that’s the best I’ve seen a center-back pairing play him.’
The former Chelsea center-back kept the Norwegian maverick quiet throughout the year.
Former Man City defender Joleon Lescott agreed with Ferdinand, as he said: ‘You can be aggressive but you’ve got to have the strength and the capability. We’ve seen players try to be aggressive but not be able to match the strength and the pace, while Rudiger found himself isolated.
‘We were watching him when the ball was nowhere near him, pulling his shirt, pushing him around. It’s a pattern to go forward but I don’t think every center half can take that approach.’
Manchester City will host the defending champions at the Etihad next week hoping to qualify for their second ever UEFA Champions League final.
