Pep Guardiola is proud of how Manchester City held its own on Tuesday evening in the away match against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Spanish tactician noted afterwards that his team has grown mentally.
City quickly fell behind 2-1 after an early opening goal from Bernardo Silva, but recovered and even took the lead again in the second half, before Federico Valverde made the final score 3-3 on behalf of Real. And so the title holder returned with a draw from the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the stadium where City collapsed in the semi-finals two seasons ago (3-1 after extra time).
Guardiola was proud afterwards. ‘We had lost this match 4-1 or 5-1 in the first three seasons under my leadership. We were not yet mentally stable then. It is crucial to be emotionally balanced in these types of matches. Take advantage of the good moments and be steady in the bad moments. It is impossible to be in control for 90 minutes against Real at the Bernabéu in their competition.’
Chaos
In the eighth season under his leadership, Guardiola saw that City has now mastered that art. Even after Kevin De Bruyne became ill just before the match. ‘I only found out in the dressing room. Nothing was wrong at the hotel yet, but he started to feel bad when we got here. But one of the secrets at the highest level is that you adapt quickly in the face of chaos. You don’t have time to complain,” the Spaniard declared.
In the Belgian’s absence, Phil Foden played with Mateo Kovavic in midfield. Foden made the beautiful 2-2 in the second half, but came off in the final phase after receiving a knock. “He grumbled at me for substituting him, which probably means he’s OK,” said Guardiola, who was happy Josko Gvardiol was fit enough to play given the absences of Nathan Aké and Kyle Walker. “He played very well.”
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All in all, Guardiola could live with the 3-3 draw in Madrid. ‘It was a great match. If we had traveled to Manchester with a 3-1 or a 4-1 defeat, it would have been difficult. But we stayed calm on the ball and played much better in the second half than in the first half. We settle for this 3-3. We need the support of all our fans next week to beat the kings of this tournament.”
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2024-04-10 05:50:24
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