"We love challenges" - Real Madrid legend insists Carlo Ancelotti's men 'will show they want to be champions' after drawing Manchester City in UCL Q/F

Real Madrid icon Emilio Butragueno has acknowledged the fight the La Liga giants have on their hands after drawing Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

Carlo Ancelotti's Los Blancos will face City for the third consecutive season in the knockout stages of Europe's elite club competition. They met in the semifinals of the 2022-23 campaign, with Pep Guardiola's men winning 5-1 on aggregate.

Manchester City went on to win the Champions League for the first time in their history, becoming treble winners. Ancelotti will need his side to enact revenge on the Cityzens who are running riot once again this season.

Butragueno is aware of the threat posed by Guardiola's reigning European champions. He said when reacting to the draw (via Madrid Xtra):

"We are Real Madrid and we love challenges. We face Manchester City again, who have a lot of potential. They are a very dangerous team and the current champion, but we are going to approach the tie in a particular way because we have enough days to prepare for the first match, which is going to be fundamental."

The first leg takes place at the Santiago Bernabeu on April 9 and the second leg commences on April 16 at the Etihad. Real Madrid and Manchester City are both unbeaten in the Champions League this season.

The La Liga heavyweights are the record holders winning the competition on 14 occasions. Butragueno was adamant that Ancelotti's troops will want to prove they want to win it for the 15th time:

"We know the difficulties we are going to face, but we are going to live it with the hope of giving joy to our fans and being in those semifinals. The players will want to show that they want to be champions and they have the capabilities to do so."

The winners of Madrid's semifinal against City will face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich. Those two European giants were drawn on the same side of the draw and one of the four will be in the final at Wembley on June 1.

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Manchester City's Erling Haaland was thrilled with Jude Bellingham's start at Real Madrid

Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham will square off.

Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham will lock horns for the first time since the latter left Borussia Dortmund. The duo were teammates at Signal Iduna Park for two years and forged a close bond.

Both have become two of European football's superstars and are in blistering form this season. Bellingham joined Real Madrid from Dortmund last summer in a €103 million deal and has made a record-breaking start at the Bernabeu.

Bellingham, 20, has registered 20 goals and nine assists in 31 games across competitions. The English midfielder eclipsed Los Blancos icons Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stefano, and Pruden by becoming the first player in the club's history to score 14 goals in 15 matches.

Haaland, 23, waxed lyrical about his former teammate earlier this season. The Norweigan superstar said (via Managing Madrid):

"I saw the incredible debut of Jude at Real Madrid, and that makes me very happy for him."

Haaland similarly made history during his debut season at Manchester City. He became the first player in Premier League history to score 35 goals or more in a 38-game campaign. The prolific forward is in red-hot form this season, registering 29 goals and six assists in 33 games across competitions.