Pep Guardiola: Manchester City must produce ‘perfect game’ to turn around Real Madrid tie
· Yahoo Sports
Pep Guardiola said Manchester City need to produce “the perfect game” to overturn a 3-0 deficit and knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League.
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Only three teams have ever won a Champions League knockout tie after losing the first leg 3-0 – Deportivo la Coruna against AC Milan, and both Roma and Liverpool against Barcelona – and Guardiola admitted his side face a “massive task” after last week’s defeat in the Bernabeu.
Guardiola is confident his team have the ability to score enough goals, citing knockout matches in the past when they have scored four or more in the Champions League – including two against Real Madrid – but feels they probably cannot afford to concede.
Real, for whom Fede Valverde scored a hat-trick last week, could have top scorer Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham back, making City’s challenge potentially even tougher.
“It's a final, we have to play a perfect game to turn it around,” said Guardiola. “We just have to try and don't give up.
“The task is massive: to score more than three goals against Madrid is not easy but we are here, it is a football game, everything can happen and we have to create as much momentum as possible with our people and do a good game and defend well.
“It's easy for me to say that we have to score three goals in the first 20 minutes. Yeah, perfect, good message. But the reality is completely different. Just to be sustainable in our approach, in how we have to do it, and all the departments.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has not given up hope of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals (PA Wire)“People say, ‘you have to make goals, goals’. But we have to make more if we concede. So, we try to avoid that. It's not easy, because the quality of Madrid is always there, but the situation that will be there in the one-on-ones, the keepers, defenders and everyone, the solidarity to work behind.”