Pep Guardiola has said that his Manchester City side “were not good in the first stage” of the UEFA Champions League and “didn’t deserve” to play the home leg of their play-off clash against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium.
The winners of the last three Champions League trophies will face off against one another for the fifth season in a row, with the first leg of their play-off tie to be played in England – something Guardiola is far from a fan of.
“To be honest, [playing the first leg at home is] always bad. The second leg at home, extra time, your people, your crowd is much better, but last season, [and] two seasons ago, we were good. Last season, except the first 10-15 minutes, they [Man City] were really good. I think we played a good game,” he said.
“Listen. We play the second game away because we were not good in the first stage. When you finish 22 to 24 [in the league phase], you cannot ask any favours.”
“Normally in football, you have to deserve it, and we didn’t deserve it.”
The City manager is also well aware pf the quality within the Real Madrid side, saying that their front four of Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham could be “impossible” to deal with.
“It is impossible in 90 minutes, 180 minutes or 200 minutes – it depends [on] extra time – to control these four players,” Guardiola admitted.
“Everybody knows, I don’t say anything new, they are exceptional. How they combine, the runners, the ability one against one, how they keep the ball. So, all four, they are exceptional.”
As for how he plans to deal with them, acceptance is the first stage: “We have to reduce the ball movement as much as possible, knowing that it’s going to happen. Accept it,” he conceded.
Guardiola also acknowledged the existing parallels between both Manchester City and Real Madrid, particularly in the injury department. The La Liga leaders will be without five key defenders when they travel to Manchester on Tuesday, and fitness issues have plagued their season. For their part, City will still be without key players like Rodri and Jérémy Doku as part of their injury-stricken campaign. Guardiola was, however, clear as to which side had managed those absences better.
“I think both teams have had problems in terms of injuries during the season. I think Madrid have handled it much, much better than us, because they are still top of the league and fighting against Atletico Madrid,” he said.
“They’ve showed again, one more year, the consistency they have had.”
“Barcelona are playing exceptionally. We can compare them with the old Barcelona, and still with that, Real Madrid are leaders. So, with the problems that we had, at the end, they are a huge competitor.”
Regarding the reasons behind that disparity, Guardiola was clear: “We are not being consistent. What defined our team in the last decade is we were incredible machines every three days. Otherwise, we cannot win six Premier Leagues in seven years.”
“We are not being consistent. Of course, we can perform well tomorrow, of course we can perform well in Madrid, of course we can perform well at the end of the season. But, I don’t know how we are going to react, but before I can tell you ‘okay, it’s going to happen like that,’ now, I don’t know how they are going to react,” he said.
“We are going to prepare today, talk with the team, and hopefully we can perform well.”
Manchester City’s clash with Real Madrid kicks off at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday 11th February.