Benjamin Mendy Warns Man City Teammates Champions League Tie With Real Madrid Isn’t Over

Benjamin Mendy has warned his Manchester City teammates of complacency in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie with Real Madrid.

City hold a 2-1 lead at the half-time stage of their tie with Madrid, having come from a goal down to leave the Santiago Bernabeu in February with a slender victory.

While Mendy admitted his side’s performance at the home of the 2018 champions was special, he was keen to stress that the tie is far from over, and is sure his teammates will be of the same mindset.

“I know that in the minds of every player, they know that just because we won there does not mean that it is finished or that we are qualified," Mendy said as quoted by Goal. "It is not every day that you go to somewhere like the Bernabeu and perform like that in the Champions League.

"We have an opportunity to go far in this cup and we want it, so everybody wakes up, works out, stays focused on the target for when they say we can come back. We don’t have the Champions League yet so it is the dream.”

Since arriving at City, Mendy has endured a torrid time with injury. The Frenchman has managed just 17 Premier League appearances for the Citizens since signing from Monaco in 2017.

Despite being no stranger to long spells on the sidelines, Mendy admitted he’s desperate for football to resume again following its postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic, and he says his teammates are no different.

“I can’t wait,” he added. “We are just waiting for the green light. Everywhere we see we are going to start on this date and that date. Now I wait for the guys to text us to tell us the league is going to start at this time, and we are going to be so happy.

"But I know they are going to take all the precautions when we are back. It’s not like they are just going to say, ‘Let’s go play’, they are going to check everything and I think that’s why it takes time. When? We don’t know, we can’t decide anything, we need to follow the club. I think all of us firstly want to protect the people and then if we can play then why not? We will wait and see.” 

With the Premier League hiatus now two and a half months long, the Frenchman went on to give an insight into how he has been keeping himself occupied while in lockdown.

"First of all, I was just working out and training, but then I wanted to learn some new stuff as well so I started painting and I like it now," he added. "Some of my family bought me some stuff to make cooking easier, it helps to learn, and it has been nice. I try to keep busy and do some new stuff."