Manzano pledges Real assault

Sevilla boss Gregorio Manzano knows his players have no choice but to attack Real Madrid in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

Cup holders Sevilla trail 1-0 on aggregate to a Karim Benzema goal at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

And Manzano knows they will have to go on the offensive if they are to overturn the deficit in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

“We will try to get through to the final,” Manzano said.

“There is no other mentality that we can have that isn’t going for the win, after the result from the first leg. We have to win.”

“Knowing the difficulties that the game presents, the first leg result and the opponent in front of us, it will be tough. But nothing is decided until the final minute of the match tomorrow. I think that we have the capability and the commitment to make a comeback.”

If Sevilla are to reach the final, they will have to inflict Real’s first defeat at home this season.

But Manzano believes if any team are capable of staging such an upset, it is his cup experts.

“It’s another statistic,” he said, referring to Real’s unbeaten run at home.

“They are there to be broken, as is always said in football. It wouldn’t be the first time that Real Madrid have lost at home, and been knocked out in the cup in the second-leg at home.”

“Sevilla have also made cup comebacks – including when we have had tough games this year. Games like against Borussia Dortmund, where I think there was a very similar atmosphere.”

“The statistic is a good one for pre-match analysis, but when we kick off tomorrow the game won’t be decided by statistics. Who scores the most will be the team that wins the tie.”