Pep Guardiola has reacted to Manchester City UEFA Champions League round of 16 play-off clash against Real Madrid in one of the most talked about fixtures in this round.
Guardiola was speaking at the press conference ahead of the Premier League clash against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. According to him the game against Real Madrid in the Champions League is slowly becoming a derby in the competition after both sides have met each other for four seasons in a row.
What did Pep Guardiola say about Manchester City vs Real Madrid ?
He said,
“It looks like a derby already, we’ve played them [Real Madrid] four years in a row. Bayern [Munich] or [Real] Madrid, it was always going to be tough. Hopefully, we can arrive at the time in a good moment. Hopefully, we can arrive in the moment of the first leg here and the game one week later in Madrid as best as possible.”
He continued,
“It’s tough to play Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. The problem is in the middle we have to play Newcastle, and always they are so kind for the calendar for many, many years. The draw could have been nicer, yes. For one goal, we could’ve played another one. But who is to say that playing Celtic de Glasgow or another team would be even worse? We could play awful and they go through. The draw is the draw. Bayern Munich is extremely difficult, Real Madrid is extremely difficult.”
Manchester City will take on Real Madrid in a two-legged affair in February for a place in the competition’s last-16 stage at the Etihad. The second leg will then take place at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, in between those two matches coming for City includes meetings against Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest.
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