Kimmich: Mbappé saved Real Madrid from a slump... and this is the plan to bring them down

Speaking about his memories of the last knockout tie against Los Blancos, the German international said: “After the first leg, I felt we could have won by a bigger margin; in the second leg, Real Madrid were clearly the better side, but then Davies put us ahead with a brilliant goal. We went back to the pitch feeling we could have performed better; nevertheless, we don’t have any injured players this year, which used to be a recurring issue whenever we came to play here, and we’re very happy that everyone is fit.”

On the atmosphere at the Santiago Bernabéu, Kimmich explained: “The atmosphere and the fans here are truly special. We’ve come here many times with good intentions but left disappointed, but this time the second leg will be in Munich, and that’s an advantage for us.”

Kimmich added: "Harry Kane is incredibly important to us, which goes without saying; he’s a key part of our style of play, because he’s not just a goalscorer, he’s a natural leader and a role model, and he has a unique mindset for an attacking player. It’s important that he’s on the pitch tomorrow to provide his leadership."

On watching Real Madrid’s matches against Manchester City, Kimmich commented: “I didn’t watch the matches, but this is Real Madrid, and things are sometimes different here. Perhaps we expected City to dominate, so it was exciting to see them qualify. City and Real have faced each other many times, and Real have progressed on several occasions even though we sometimes felt it wasn’t deserved, but this time against City, their qualification was deserved.”

On the secret to beating Real Madrid, Kimmich emphasised: “If you want to beat Real Madrid, you have to be at your best mentally and tactically. Everyone here is excited and happy to be playing here tomorrow. This is the highest level of competition, which is what we dream of as players, and we’re eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s clash.”

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When asked whether the match pits the world’s two best teams against each other, he replied: “It’s always a very special match, and as far as I’m concerned, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are the two biggest clubs in the world.”

On what makes this fixture special, he said: “Our manager doesn’t usually make many changes depending on the match, but we all feel that this quarter-final against Real Madrid is something special and we’re looking forward to it with great enthusiasm. When I was a child, I used to come and watch the stadium even when there were no matches, and that’s when I realised just how magnificent this place is. It’s not an everyday occurrence; it’s for moments like this that we train every day, and I hope we put in a good performance tomorrow.”

He concluded: “Kylian Mbappé can help any team, because he possesses exceptional individual quality and is the captain of the French national side. He has decided many matches this season, even when Real Madrid were going through difficult moments… He is a lethal weapon; I’ve played against him several times and we know what to expect.”