Aguero will be our real deal say City

Aguero our key

MANUEL Pellegrini has backed Sergio Aguero to outshine Cristiano Ronaldo and fire Manchester City into the Champions League final here tonight.

Aguero has managed only two goals in the competition this season – and missed a penalty in the second leg of the quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain – whereas Ronaldo has rattled in 16.

The Portuguese superstar has missed Real’s last three games with a thigh injury, including the first leg at the Etihad, but has assured coach Zinedine Zidane he is fit to start. Aguero has not had a

shot on target in his last four Champions League games and the former Atletico Madrid star has not been on a winning side in 14 appearances against Real.

But Pellegrini is backing his Argentina striker to step up to the plate on City’s big night.

He said: “I always say the big games are decided by the best technical players and Sergio is one of the best in the world. I believe we will see Sergio produce a good performance.”

Pellegrini feels Aguero needs to win the Champions League to help his chances of challenging Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s monopoly of the Ballon D’Or.

But he has warned his players not to concentrate all their focus on stopping Ronaldo tonight for fear of leaving gaps for other dangerous players such as Gareth Bale. “Cristiano will always be a different player,” he said. “He has scored a lot of goals in his six years here but I don’t believe Real Madrid is just about Cristiano.

“If he plays or not they have other options. We must attack and defend as a team, not just against Ronaldo but Real Madrid.”

Yaya Toure will be back for City, who will be without David Silva. Karim Benzema and midfielder Casemiro are missing for Real.

Pellegrini was sacked by Real in 2009 after only one season in charge but insists he has no issues with them.

“For me it’s always nice to come back to the Bernabeu because I have great memories with Real Madrid,” he said. “I’ve been back many times before so there is no problem.

“It was an important year here and I had the support of everyone.

“Our motivation is not linked to that, it’s to try to reach a final that we haven’t done before and to play against a great team like Real Madrid in beautiful stadium.

“That motivates me more than who is the best team and reaches the final. We trust ourselves and hope we can prove it. “The pressure will be very high in the Bernabeu but we have the

mentality to do it.”