Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini has declared his team motivated to make history and reach their first Champions League final, as they prepare for the second-leg semi-final match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Manchester City face a tough battle against a Real Madrid side unbeaten in their last four CL matches at the Bernabeu against English opposition.

"Our motivation must be to reach a final we have never reached before and to play against a great team like Real Madrid in a beautiful stadium. I know, at least for me, what motivates me more than speculation is who is the best team and who will reach the final. I think everyone must trust in the team. We trust a lot in our [team] and I hope that we can demonstrate that tomorrow night," said Pellegrini at a pre-match press conference, when asked about how his side will deal with the Spanish giants.

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Manchester City and Real Madrid had a goalless stalemate in England on 26 April. Pellegrini is set to make changes to his squad after resting some of his team's big players for their Premier League match against Southampton on 1 May, in preparation for the trip to Madrid, .

"The best way to reach the final is to play in the way we know and the way we work every day. We tried to do it in Manchester. We tried to press them to recover the ball but it wasn't a very good day for us creatively. Tomorrow we're going to start from the first minute of the game to try and have possession of the ball and try to attack of course," explained Pellegrini.

Manchester City will have to ensure their defence is tight with the news that Cristiano Ronaldo will return to play in the clash. The Portuguese international is Real Madrid's all-time leading scorer and has 47 goals in all competitions this season. City are hoping to make it to the final of the Champions League for the first time in their history and prevent Real Madrid from being in with a chance of picking up their eleventh European crown.

Champions League