Real Madrid coach Ancelotti warns Bayern Munich: Don't underestimate us

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says they're confident facing Bayern Munich tonight.

Real meet Bayern in Germany for the first-leg of their Champions League semifinal.

Ancelotti said: Everything that's happened in the past of course holds good memories, but tomorrow will be a different story. First game of the semi-final, we're confident but aware we're up against a team with great attributes, quality and real individual talent. As always, we're thrilled to be here because not many people thought I'd be here giving this press conference today. We have achieved it through effort, hard work and commitment. Now we're worried and confident in equal measure ahead of a semi-final that could send us into another final. It's played over 180 minutes, not 90.

We are confident but we have great respect for this team. They haven't had the best season in the Bundesliga but they played a very impressive tie against Arsenal. They were very good in both games. We have to look at that, Arsenal are a very strong side in Europe and they delivered two superb displays. This club's history is more or less the same as ours in the Champions League and that counts for a lot.

Real Madrid are never underrated in this competition. Everyone knows what we can do. To be honest, we feel hugely respected by everyone in this competition."

The former Bayern coach also said: If I have to compare, they're very strong on the transition, they have quick players and can play in different ways, with a high press or a low block... We are both teams without a very fixed identity, which means we can play in different ways.

Munich is a beautiful, fantastic city. Sadly, I always struggled to learn German. My son was more fortunate in that sense, he speaks it very well. I'm sorry to say I've forgotten a lot of it. By the way, this is a wonderful city to live in."