Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola reacts as he speaks during a press conference at Manchester City's training ground in Manchester, north-west England, on February 10, 2025, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League football match against Real Madrid. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
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Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola reacts as he speaks during a press conference at Manchester City’s training ground in Manchester, north-west England, on February 10, 2025, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League football match against Real Madrid. |
AFP photo.
Pep Guardiola has challenged his Manchester City side to prove they are still ‘something special’ in their blockbuster Champions League tie against Real Madrid despite a turbulent season for the Premier League champions.
The two clubs meet in Europe’s elite competition for a fourth consecutive season but this time much earlier in the tournament as both under-performed in the new league phase.
City sneaked into the next round in 22nd place in the 36-team table by winning their final game against Club Brugge, while defending champions Real finished 11th.
Guardiola admitted at Monday’s pre-match press conference that his team, European champions in 2023, were ‘not even close’ to finishing in the top eight, which meant automatic qualification for the last 16.
Real Madrid, European champions a record 15 times, secured a seeding for the knockout play-offs, meaning they host the second leg of the tie, which the City boss admitted was an advantage.
‘When you finish 22nd (out of 24) you cannot ask any favour, you cannot ask anything that you didn’t win,’ Guardiola said ahead of Tuesday’s first leg at the Etihad.
‘Always I believe what happens in football, normally you have to deserve it and we didn’t deserve it.’
