Guardiola: 'If you want to win the Champions League, you must beat Real'
"I think every team has the feeling that if they want to win this tournament they have to beat Real. It used to be Barca, but now it's Real," Guardiola said after he and Man City beat Bayern in the fourth quarter. Champions League final.
The next two semi-finals are the third time Man City will face Real in the fourth round of the strongest teams in the Champions League. In the 2015-2016 season, Man City - then led by Manuel Pellegrini - drew 0-0 in the first leg, then lost 0-1 in the second leg. After winning Man City, Real beat Atletico in the final to win the title. A similar scenario played out last season when Real defeated Man City in the semi-finals with a total score of 6-5, before beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final.
Real is the most successful club in Europe with 14 times Champions League / European Cup Winners. In particular, the royal team holds the record of three consecutive championships in the 2016-2018 period, under Zinedine Zidane.
Guardiola came to Man City in 2016 and won every domestic title, including four Premier Leagues, one FA Cup, four League Cups, and two English Super Cups. However, Man City's best performance in the Champions League was reaching the final in 2021, where they lost 0-1 to Chelsea because of Kai Havertz's only goal.
In the quarter-final second leg yesterday, Man City were awarded a penalty in the first half after the ball touched Dayot Upamecano's hand, but Erling Haaland shot over the bar. In the second half, the French midfielder continued to make mistakes when he slipped and let Haaland pass in a counterattack. This time, the Norwegian striker did not miss the opportunity to face goalkeeper Yann Sommer with a corner shot to open the scoring.
The effort then only helped Bayern remove one goal, with a penalty kick by midfielder Joshua Kimmich. Winning 4-1 on aggregate after two legs sent Man City into the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third year in a row and the third English club in history to do so after Man Utd and Chelsea (both from 2007 to 2019). .
Guardiola is proud to have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League three times in a row, but thinks the 4-1 scoreline does not reflect the situation of the two quarter-finals. The Spanish coach appreciates Bayern's physicality and ideas, and emphasizes that Champions League matches are always decided by small details. According to Guardiola, Man City "defended firmly in the box, controlled the game better in the second half, but should have scored more to finish the game sooner".
Man City only has two days off before playing Sheffield United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on April 22. If they reach both the FA Cup and Champions League finals, the Manchester club must play 13 more games for the rest of the season. In the English Premier League, they are second with 70 points, four points behind Arsenal and one game less.
Guardiola admits Man City is "exhausted" and does not know how to recover in time for the FA Cup semi-final. He also praised Haaland's goal-scoring instincts - who hit 12 goals in the Champions League this season, equaling former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's achievement with Man Utd in the 2002-2003 season. This is the most goals scored in a single Champions League season by a single player in the Premier League.
Man City suffered losses when Nathan Ake injured his hamstring and had to make way for Aymeric Laporte from the 66th minute. After the game, the Dutch defender said he would examine the injury more closely today and hope things are not too bad. .
