Rudiger relishing Haaland battle in Real Madrid-Man City clash

"With players like Erling Haaland, it's a huge pleasure to play against them. I like the physical battle. I've faced him a lot, and he's a top player. I like these kinds of duels...I find it fantastic to play against him. And he seems like a good guy."

"I don't think too deeply about things like statistics. In the game in the group stage, [Haaland] got the better of me... With players like Erling Haaland, it's a huge pleasure to play against them. I like the physical battle."

"When you see the images, in slow motion, of course it looks terrible. But he said I almost killed him, or something...He didn't need to exaggerate it. If I wanted to hurt him, he wouldn't have got up...It was never my intention to hurt anyone."

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger expressed enthusiasm about facing Erling Haaland in the Champions League round-of-16 second leg at Manchester City. Rüdiger successfully contained Haaland in the first leg at the Bernabéu, where the Manchester City forward managed only 10 touches and no shots before being substituted in the 82nd minute during Real Madrid's dominant 3-0 victory. Rüdiger emphasized his enjoyment of physical duels with elite strikers, noting that while Haaland got the better of him in the group stage, he appreciates competing against top-level players. The defender also addressed recent criticism regarding his physical style of play following an incident with Getafe's Diego Rico, clarifying that his aggressive approach has boundaries and that he never intends to injure opponents.

Read at ESPN.com