Pellegrini reacts to drawing Real Madrid in Champions League semis

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has been presented with a golden opportunity to get revenge over his former team, Real Madrid. The La Liga club unceremoniously sacked the Chilean in spite of his Los Blancos side achieving a then record 96 points in a single league season.

The Sky Blues saw off PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday to reach the semi-final stage of the competition for the first time in their history. But while the Premier League nouveau riche team might be pinching themselves, the understated South American manager has enough experience of the latter stages of the European Cup to keep his feet on the ground.

Before taking over at the Etihad, he took Villarreal to the semi-finals of the competition during the 2006/07 season and was at the helm of Málaga when the Andalusians came agonisingly close to reaching the same stage against Borussia Dortmund.