Pep Guardiola, perfectly aware of what it means to play a Champions League match at the Santiago Bernabéu, even if it is the first leg, did not end up completely satisfied with the development and outcome of a crazy but beautiful Madrid-City for the spectator. A carousel of emotions, a back-and-forth that a coach as meticulous as the Catalan usually doesn’t like. He assumes that to reach the semi-finals at the Etihad, his team must be much more solid, not suffer so many turnovers and not allow those lethal transitions from Real Madrid.
«The game was good, I imagine that the people had a good time. You are worried all day thinking about how to stop Madrid’s transitions, but it is impossible. We lost a lot of balls, even with very reliable players like Rodri or Bernardo (Silva), but the situation was controlled when we asked for 2-1. In the second half we were exceptional, although with Madrid on this field you know that the games are never over,” explained the City coach on the television channels with rights.
What did you say to your players at half-time? “I told them that if we attacked in a disorderly manner there was nothing to do and I asked them to be quieter, be more precise in their passes, turn them around and wait for Foden and Gvardiol to appear,” Guardiola added in his analysis of this return match.
He praised Kroos, “capable of managing his team as only Toni can do”, and confessed that “it is very difficult to be able to minimize players like Vinicius because not only are they very fast, but they drive well, they unbalance…”.
«We came with a lot of fatigue, with very important losses to control their game, but we continue to be stable, competitive. “I have some wonderful players who have been doing things every three days for six years like no one else has done,” he highlighted about his pupils.
De Bruyne suffered vomiting
He explained that De Bruyne participated in the previous talk, but could not play due to intestinal problems that caused “vomiting and vomiting”, but he hoped to have him for the second leg. Your prediction for him for the Etihad? «You don’t have to do many analyzes. “Whoever wins will go to the semi-finals.”
When asked if he liked the experience of the closed Bernabéu, Guardiola took advantage of the situation to throw a dart at Real Madrid and criticize the poor state of the pitch, a serious problem since the last remodeling. «I like to see the sky more, although the truth is that the stadium has been impressive. “Now they only have to worry about taking care of the grass to have a good field, like Real Madrid always had.”
2024-04-09 22:02:09
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