Manuel Akanji insists that Manchester City has nothing to fear from Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
City will be confronted next month with one of those two European heavyweights in the Champions League after he was scraped to the play-off round on Wednesday.
The winners of 2023 were the danger for elimination after they had fallen behind in their must-win Final League phase match against Club Brugge in the Etihad Stadium, but Rally to win 3-1.
The defeat is said to have missed City for the first time since 2012-2013 on the knockout phase, but after making the cut in 22nd place, Akanji feels that they can now look ahead with confidence.
The defender of Switzerland said: 'We are definitely ready. It is clear that they are not the teams you want to see, but whoever it is, we are looking forward to the challenge and I think we can beat every team in Europe.
'Even though we didn't play as good as before, I don't think a team wants to face us. I don't know what's going on in their heads, but whoever comes, we are ready for the challenge. '
City went into the game, knowing that the only victory would be enough to extend their latest European campaign.
After he had started the competition as one of the favorites, City had been in this perilous situation after a disastrous sequence of results and performances, including defeats for Sporting Lisbon, Juventus and Paris St Germain and a draw with Feyenoord.
The decline seemed to continue while admitting Raphael Onyedika, but City hit back after the break by Mateo Kovacic, a goal of Joel Ordonez and a game-changing replacement Savinho.
Akanji said: 'We are happy that we have taken the play-offs. It is clear that we want us to have reached the top eight, but we couldn't change that anymore.
“The only thing we had to do was win. It wasn't easy, but we did it. It was not the way we wanted it to be, but here we are now and I am still sure that we can beat who is coming. '
So far it has been an overwhelming season for City, who also fell well from the pace in their pursuit of a fifth consecutive Premier League title.
They now go to a tough February with matches against Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Tottenham, as well as their double header against Real of Bayern. They will teach their European opponents on Friday.
“Good results always make the mood better than when you lose,” said Akanji.
“I hope we can keep it up to it. It is what we have to do now – go match by match, game by game. We have the next Arsenal. It is an important game, gone, it will not be easy. We have to recover well and be ready for the challenge. '
Comments