Kevin De Bruyne lauds smart Man City game plan against Bayern Munich | OneFootball

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has hailed his side’s resilience in their 4-1 aggregate win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

The 31-year-old believes they handled playing at the Allianz Arena well as they sealed qualification to the semi-final of Europe’s premier competition.

Man City beat Bayern Munich 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg. They knew they only had to see out the game against the Bavarians and did it well.

Any fears that City manager Pep Guardiola would tinker with his team proved false as he named the same starting XI from the last game.

Unsurprisingly, Bayern pressed and attacked early on as they sought to get back in the game.

However, City stood resolute and went ahead through Erling Braut Haaland, who had missed a penalty earlier.

De Bruyne provided the assist, and the jittery Dayot Upamecano allowed Haaland through.

He said (via Man City’s official website): “I think going into the semis is what we wanted to do.

“I’ve played here before and in the beginning you know they’re going to come aggressive and they’re going to try and put you under pressure.

“But, I think we dealt well with the pressure. We defended when there was a tough moment and at certain times we created what we needed to create.

“In the difficult moments and I think it was a very smart game from us. You need to prepare everything and that’s what we did.”

City are through to the Champions League semi-final for the third consecutive season. They will face Real Madrid for the second campaign in a row.

The two teams met last year and Carlo Ancelotti’s men emerged victorious. Los Blancos went on to win their 14th Champions League title.

Whoever wins between City and Madrid will face the winner of the Milan derby in the final.

AC Milan face Inter Milan in the Champions League for the first time since 2005. That time, the Rossoneri mauled their city rivals.

Milan last reached the semi-finals in 2007 and subsequently won the tournament. The last time Inter were in the last four was in 2010, and they also lifted the trophy.

The semi-final clashes will be played on May 9 and 16.