Man City help Madrid out against United by letting them use Etihad Stadium for training after Mourinho snubs Old Trafford
By IAN LADYMAN
Manchester City have gone from noisy neighbours to naughty neighbours after allowing Real Madrid to train on their pitch ahead of their Champions League game with United next week.
Normal protocol would see Jose Mourinho and his team train on United’s pitch in order to familiarise themselves with their surroundings ahead of the last 16 second leg tie.
But City have accepted a request to train at the Etihad Stadium instead after Real decided their pitch was of a better standard than the one at Old Trafford.
Helping hand: Roberto Mancini's side are aiding Madrid before their clash with Sir Alex Ferguson's team
Snub: The match venue, Old Trafford, has been rejected as a training base by Mourinho
Initially, Real wanted to train at home in Spain and then fly to England on Monday afternoon.
But a baggage handling strike at Madrid airport on Monday means that the Spanish champions are having to travel a day earlier.
United confirmed that Real wouldn’t be using their pitch and that they had never asked to.
City, meanwhile, will be in Birmingham ahead of their Barclays Premier League game at Aston Villa on Monday night by the time Real arrive.
City manager Roberto Mancini has previously said that he would like United to progress in the Champions League in order to distract them from their attempts to win the league.
United currently have a 12-point lead.
It is part of tournament regulations that competing teams must make part of their pre-match session open to the media.
Almost always, that takes place at either the ground where the game is being played, or on home soil prior to departure, as has been the case with both United and City this season.
Mourinho, like Ferguson, is wary of his training sessions being spied on, either by the media or those with connections to his opponents.
And perhaps the former Chelsea boss has decided it is safer to train at City rather than United as they look to claim a quarter-final berth following the 1-1 draw in Spain last month.
Familiar surroundings: Cristiano Ronaldo goes close for Real at the Etihad in November and (below) Karim Benzema celebrates his goal in the 1-1 draw
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