Guardiola: It’s not enough to play just one game to knock out Real Madrid. What does it mean for him to play at the Santiago Bernabéu?

Manchester City – Real Madrid, Champions League semi-final. World football has not and will not see many bigger and more anticipated matches this season. The first match offered a great spectacle and a 4: 3 result for the English, what is Pep Guardiola going to his home country with?

Guardiola knows all about Real Madrid’s strength in the latter part of the competition. After all, the last time he faced the Spanish giant in the Champions League semi-finals, it ended horribly. In the 2013/14 season on the Bayern Munich bench, he had to endure a heavy defeat in a 0::5 (0::1, 0::4) aggregate.

He also struggled with Los Blancos for several years on the bench of Barcelona, Real’s biggest rival. Therefore, he knows very well that relying on a one-goal lead from the first game would be the road to ruin.

“To knock out Real Madrid, we have to play two good games. It’s not enough to win just one,” Guardiola assured the press conference.

“We will probably have to play better than in the first game. We have to be better, but it could also happen that we play much worse and get promoted. Sometimes you get what you deserve, sometimes you don’t. We have to play incredibly well and win the game,” the Spanish coach added.

Real Madrid will rely on the hallowed Santiago Bernabéu, which has already seen several turnarounds in European Cups. Even this season’s Champions League has witnessed two “resurrections” against PSG and Chelsea. The power of the magical stadium is well known to Guardiola.

“Playing at the Bernabéu is a big test and at the same time a great happiness because it means we are in the semi-finals. But the Bernabéu is a great test to prove who we are,” Guardiola urges the Citizens.

Real Madrid are historically the most successful team in the competition, Manchester City have arguably the strongest squad at the moment, so who can be considered the favourite?

“Favourite? They are two great teams, we saw that last week. They are the champions of Spain, we are trying to be champions here. I said a week ago that we are trying to qualify to be in our second consecutive final,” the 51-year-old coach avoided answering.

Source: UEFA