Interview
[Jonathon Rogers](/author/jonathon-rogers) 12 Mar 2025
After it was confirmed that we’ll face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League, Oleksandr Zinchenko is excited to be going up against one of the world’s best.
The Ukrainian slammed in the first goal of our 2-2 draw against PSV Eindhoven to seal our pathway to the last eight, as we made it to the quarter-finals for the second successive season for the first time since 2010.
That is something Alex feels we should take plenty of heart from, but he wants us to go one step further and experience the same huge nights that he had at Manchester City by going even deeper into the competition.
“We should be proud of this,” he mused post-match as we reached the last eight. “Of course, we are looking for something bigger, but this is what we need to prove on the pitch, not by talking. I think we are in a very interesting stage of the season where obviously every game is like a final.
“Real Madrid are one of the biggest clubs in the world, they’ve won this competition 15 times, and they have a lot of world-class players and experience. But we just need to show our best performances, and we are all looking forward to these games.”
Alex has experienced knockout Champions League fixtures against Los Blancos before, including facing Real in an epic two-legged affair in 2022 that saw the Spanish side run out 6-5 victors on aggregate thanks to two late goals.
“Don't remind me, please, it's such a painful memory!” he laughed. “But it's an amazing experience. Especially for myself, being at that age to play at this stage and to have this experience. I'm really grateful for that. The only thing I can say is you cannot relax until it's done.
“When you're playing at this stage, you just need to be the best. If you want to win and achieve something, you need to be at your best level first and then you need to compete with the others.”
Alex's excellent strike after six minutes saw him opt for some muted celebrations, given he spent some time on loan at PSV back in the 2016/17 season when he was still making his way in the game.
He admits he loved his time in Eindhoven so much he frequently returns, and out of respect for how he was treated there, he decided against showing too much emotion despite bagging his first goal of the season.
“I didn't spend a lot of time over there, but that season on loan, I've got amazing memories because the people are so lovely over there,” he admitted.
“The warm welcome I received from them, the love as well, and even after I came back from the loan to Manchester City, I was still going to that place for some days off, so this is how much I really love this place. I just wish them all the best - they are fantastic people.”
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