'It's personal for me!' - Erling Haaland sent warning by Antonio Rudiger ahead of Man City's Champions League showdown with Real Madrid

Rudiger claimed that Los Blancos have a plan in place to keep an eye on the Cityzens' stars like Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland. He further stated that it's a personal fight for him as he meets the Norwegian goal machine once again this season.

The two clubs last met in the semi-final of the Champions League 2022/23 season. The German defender did an outstanding job keeping Haaland quiet in the first leg as the Cityzens could manage only a 1-1 draw at Santiago Bernabeu. Pep Guardiola's side, however, came back strongly in the second leg and registered a 4-0 win at the Etihad to book a final berth.

At the pre-match press conference, the former Chelsea star said, "It was a good game last year at the Bernabéu. We all did a great job keeping Haaland quiet that evening. And my teammates did a good job keeping [Kevin] De Bruyne quiet. This time, the plan will be to control dangerous players like Phil Foden, De Bruyne, and Haaland... It's personal for me as a defensive player, against a super striker like Haaland.

"We won't only sit back and watch City have possession. But that's part of the game. There will be phases where we have to defend more, and we're willing to do that."

After facing the reigning European champions during the midweek, Carlo Ancelotti's side will be back in action in La Liga on Saturday as they take on Mallorca.