If you want to win the Champions League, you have to beat Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola knows

Manchester City have reached the Champions League semi-finals for the third time in a row, but they are still waiting to win the competition. They will face Real Madrid again in a repeat of last season. What does Pep Guardiola have to say about his opponent?

Manchester City reach the Champions League semi-finals for the third consecutive season

Manchester City took a comfortable three-goal lead into Munich’s Allianz Arena yesterday. Despite experiencing difficulties during the match, Pep Guardiola’s team eventually secured promotion to this year’s Champions League semi-finals.

There, they will face defending champions Real Madrid in a repeat of last year’s semi-final. A year ago, in a rematch at the Santiago Bernabéu, City were still two goals up at the end of normal time, which would have meant progress to the final in Paris.

But Rodrygo forced extra time with two goals at the very end of the game, with Karim Benzema deciding the White Ballet’s progression to the final. This year, the team from Manchester will meet Real Madrid before the final gates, who simply know how to do it in the knockout phase of the Champions League.

The battle of the giants will surely be a massive event, but this match would have been better suited to the final. But City manager Pep Guardiola is not bothered by the fierce draw. He knows that if any team wants to win the millionaire’s trophy, they have to beat Real Madrid.

If you want to win this competition, you have to beat Real, Pep Guardiola knows

“All the clubs in the world know that if you want to win this competition, you have to beat Real Madrid,” Guardiola said at the post-match press conference. “Before it was Barcelona, now it’s Real.”

“I think they have 11 semi-finals in the last 13 years, so hats off to them,” he said appreciatively of his opponent’s dominance in this competition. “We only have three and it looks like: Wow, what have we done!”

The first semifinal match is scheduled for May 9 at the Santiago Bernabéu, with the rematch at the Etihad Stadium a week later. Can City finally dominate this competition or will we cut our teeth again with Carlo Ancelotti’s team?

Source: Champions League, YouTube channel – Talksport