By MARTIN BLACKBURN
ROBERTO MANCINI admits calling in the police might be the only way to stop Manchester City copping it from Cristiano Ronaldo again.
Real Madrid star Ronaldo ran riot in the Bernabeu in September, dramatically robbing Mancini’s men of a point in injury time.
The former Old Trafford hero returns to Manchester tonight hoping to sentence United’s bitter rivals to an early Champions League exit.
And Mancini believes Ron would deserve to be hailed as the best player on the planet if he scoops the Ballon D’Or next month.
The City boss smiled: “How do we stop him? Maybe we’ll call the police.
“He’s a top player and, when you come up against someone who can score one or two goals every game, it is difficult.
“We will need to concentrate.
“For me Ronaldo deserves to win the Ballon D’Or. He scored so many goals last year and that helped Madrid finish above Barcelona.
“But I hope he can have a bad night on Wednesday. Maybe they can leave him at home.”
Ronaldo, 27, became an Old Trafford legend during his six seasons down the road with United. He left 3½ years ago to join the Spanish giants in a world record £80million move and has not played in Manchester since.
Mancini feels that will make him even more keen to impress. But the Italian points out tonight is vital for Jose Mourinho’s Madrid, too, with the Spanish giants’ passage through to the knockout stages still far from secure.
He said: “For him it will be a big night — but it’s also an important game for Madrid. They still have a chance of going through to the second stage.
“Players like Ronaldo and Messi are difficult to mark. You can do good work but they are still players who can score in every game. That’s why they are the best players in the world.”
Mancini believes City’s disappointing Champions League campaign could have been so different but for those last few minutes in the opening Group D game in the Bernabeu.
They led 2-1 with just six minutes left but Karim Benzema and Ronaldo turned the game around and ensured the points went to Jose Mourinho’s men.
City now need two wins from their final two matches — and hope that results elsewhere go their way, too.
Mancini said: “If we had come back from the Bernabeu with a good result it would probably have changed this group for us.
“When you are 2-1 up with four minutes to go, you should be very strong to close the game.”
Former Atletico Madrid forward Sergio Aguero is out to break a hoodoo tomorrow night and keep City’s slender hopes of progressing alive.
The Argentine never tasted victory over the neighbours during his time in Spain and hopes to change all that this time.
He said: “It’s always special to play against a club like Real Madrid.
“Personally, my connection with Atletico Madrid gives it an additional kick. But there’s no difference to how much I want to win this match.”
