Jack Grealish says Manchester City have ‘learnt so much’ from last season

Manchester City forward Jack Grealish says he is confident his side will edge out Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium in the second leg of their Champions League tie.

The two teams treated their respective fans to a 1-1 draw in the first-leg encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night with Vinicius Jr and Kevin de Bruyne scoring on the night.

City are looking to revenge their loss from last season when they were eliminated by the Spanish side following Karim Benzema’s extra-time penalty after Rodrygo Goes scored two goals in two minutes at the Bernabeu.

The Premier League side had taken a 4-3 win at Etihad and looked certain to go through but a late meltdown saw them miss out on back-to-back Champions League finals.

But Grealish believes his teammates have taken a clue from the previous season and is optimistic they will make the last two.

“We have a new team, with different players from a year ago,” said Grealish. “One thing is that we’ve learned so much from last year. We have the perfect balance of experience and a few youngsters, like Phil [Foden] and Erling. Youngsters like that who are just world-class.

“And then we have the experience. We just have quality. I swear I’ve never felt so confident going onto the pitch and just having these players around me.”

The second leg of the game is set for Wednesday, May 17, with the winner going on to face AC Milan or Inter.