Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his players will have to show character and fight to the end in the last 16 Champions League tie against Real Madrid.
Man City is ready to play against Real Madrid
Man City manager Pep Guardiola called Real Madrid the kings of the Champions League as the former Barcelona boss is getting ready to head his Manchester City against a club he wants to emulate. City trips to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday for his first-leg clash in the Champions League in the last 16 first stage with Zidane’s Madrid and Guardiola emphasized the relative inexperience of their players when it comes to winning European titles. Madrid became champions in four of the last six editions of the Champions League and retained the many players who led these triumphs. At the same time, Claudio Bravo and Scott Carson were the only City players to win the competition.
This is a real test against Real Madrid
City boss Pep discarded his intense rivalry with Madrid, which dates back to his time as Barcelona head coach. He told journalists: “I have incredible admiration for this club. The players who played there have played so many times in the Champions League final, and I don’t know how many times everyone raised it. “Maybe Claudio Bravo won the UEFA Champions League and someone else. We do not have many players who won it. But we need a desire to win it and be ourselves, we could win it or lose it. “But we must be ourselves in 180 minutes against the Real.” This is a real, real test.”
Historical success of Madrid
Real Madrid against City, who have not been able to win any of their last two matches, and Zidane’s squad will recover under pressure from the defeat of 1-0 La Liga from Levante on Saturday. On the contrary, City goes into the game against the background of two consecutive victories in the Premier League, not yielding a goal, but Pep said that the historical success of Madrid in the Champions League will be a factor in the bunch. “You have players who come to Madrid and pull on a shirt, they know they’re defending their story, “said Guardiola, who twice won the Champions League as a Barcelona coach. “It does an extra thing. Not just viewers and the media.”
“They are a club that we want to emulate and imitate, and we must be there. I want to go there and at the end of the game I want to say “we were what we are.” “We need to go and try to do it in one of the largest, most beautiful and prestigious stadiums. After that, we will try our weapons and try to score goals. If we can’t, we congratulate them and try to improve next time.” It’s exciting for us here, so good, and we will try our best knowing that we are playing against a team that has won 13 League champions and is a king.”