Manchester City’s coach, Pep Guardiola, has expressed determination to give their all.
With the looming threat of an early Champions League exit, Guardiola isn’t too optimistic. The Spanish coach, facing reality, says the chances of City advancing by defeating Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu are very slim.
In the first leg of the Round of 16 last week, City led 2-1 until the 85th minute but lost 3-2 in a dramatic turn of events.
The return leg will be played at the Bernabéu on Wednesday. It’s a daunting task for City, who have only won one out of seven games at this stadium—a 2-1 victory in the 2020 Champions League Round of 16.
Guardiola, former coach of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, admitted that City will have to scale a mountain at the Bernabéu. However, despite the slim odds, he is committed to giving it everything they’ve got.
“In this situation (trailing 3-2), winning at the Bernabéu… everyone knows if you ask me before the game, I’d say there’s a 1 percent chance or I don’t know what to say,” he said.
“Yet, whatever chance we have, we will try. It’s unlikely because our result wasn’t good in the first leg. We were ahead 2-1 with five minutes to go, and if that had been different, it might have been another story. But with a 2-3 deficit, the chances are slim. Still, we’ll make the most of any possibility and see what happens.”
Since Guardiola took charge in 2016, this has been City’s worst season. They have already lost 12 matches across all competitions. The four-time Premier League champions now find their hopes of retaining the title almost gone midway through the season. They were knocked out of the League Cup in the fourth round and are now facing the threat of Champions League elimination.
